Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer
by lilyflower991028
Summary: I was afraid. Then again, who wouldn't be afraid of death? My surroundings were black and blurry. Howls filled my ears. I wasn't sure if it was some kind of laugh, or a signal to their friends to come see the spectacle. After a few moments of agonising pain, I realised I didn't care. No one cared about me anyway. I was going to die here, and that was that.
1. Chapter 1-Hell

**Lilyflower991028: Hey there! *laughs nervously* This is my new story, second fanfic.**

**Amu: Lily, you're starting a new fanfic without finishing your first?**

**Lily: Yes. Shut up.**

**Amu: - 3 - Haha, well, so this is about vampires, huh...**

**Lily: Yep~!**

**Ikuto: Do you guys know I'm here?**

**Amu: Did you hear something?**

**Lily: A fly.**

**Amu: Yeah, I guess you're right.**

**Lily: Hope you guys enjoy! :)**

**Edit-9/10/2013-Hi guys! I made an edit. This is a BAD chapter, I admit. So, hope you enjoy the new version!**

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**Amu POV **

I leaned against the wall, the sun shining down on me. This wall was the only thing between me and the execution. The Vampire League, whose title explains itself, had once again, found another human 'breaking the rules'. I gritted my teeth in frustration. How long had vampires been taking over humans? I hated feeling helpless against the vampires, against those bloodsuckers who looked at us like bloodbags.

"Any last words?" The executioner-a human-asked.

'What a stupid question,' I thought. The person being executed was fucking gagged, how do you expect him to say anything?

I peeked out and saw other humans watching the execution intently. Disgusting. And even more disgusting, were those humans who decided to betray their kind and work for vampires, those humans called 'pets'. They would give their blood to their vampire Masters for free food and shelter.

We could live fairly normal lives, but many people could not live as well as vampires did. All those vampires say they want to 'coexist' with humans, and just live normally. God fucking liars.

I pushed myself off the wall and walked away from the execution, hearing the screams stop abruptly as the person was killed.

I walked back to the house, and was greeted by some others living there. Food was usually scarce, as we had such a big group.

"Amu!" Tadase ran down the stairs, greeting me with a smile. "Welcome back! Did you...watch the execution?"

"No," was my deadpan response.

"Why didn't you just stay home?" Kukai asked from the stairs, walking down with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Maybe she just wanted to glare and curse at the vampires the whole time," Rima joked from the kitchen, walking over to me with two cups of coffee. She gave me one, leaving the other for herself.

"Thanks," I said wearily with a smile, taking the cup. Coffee worked great when you were tired.

I sipped the brown liquid, warming my throat as it went down. It was sweet, just the way I liked it.

I walked into the lounge which was on the left, and next to it was the kitchen. I sat down on one of the many couches and sipped quietly on my coffee.

"Amu-chi!" Yaya screamed gleefully. "You're back!"

Utau was walking down the stairs beside Yaya, Nagihiko following not too far behind.

"What happened this time?" Utau asked, sitting down after everyone else was seated. I sighed.

"Caught stealing food," I said.

"I can't believe they would execute someone just for that," Nagi said.

"I know, right? They got back the food, they didn't have to freaking kill the guy," I said. "And plus, it was just a slice of bread."

"The bloodsuckers are too stuck-up with their rules," Rima said, gulping down her coffee.

"I don't understand why all the vampires execute everyone who breaks the rules. Isn't that a bit extreme?" Tadase asked.

"Not everyone. It's just the humans," Utau said bitterly.

"Well, if we just follow the rules, we'll survive!" Kukai said, grinning. "Hey, I know! Why don't we made a pact?"

I furrowed my brows, as did everyone else.

"A pact? And what would that be?" Utau asked.

"Promise not to get killed or executed by vampires by breaking a rule," Kukai said, holding out his fist, waiting for us to agree.

"Yaya agrees! Yaya won't let any vampire kill her!" She said, putting her fist in the middle. Utau smiled.

"Who said I'd ever get killed by them?" she asked, putting her fist in the middle. I shrugged.

"I'll never be killed by a bloodsucker," I said, smirking and putting my fist with Yaya's and Kukai's.

"I agree with Amu," Rima said, putting her fist next to mine. Nagi and Tadase smiled and put their fists in the middle.

"I promise to never be killed or executed by a vampire for breaking a (stupid) rule," we said in unison, bumping our fists together. Then we all cheered. Other people around smiled at us. We were the 'legendary' group of 7, always seen hanging out around each other.

"Hinamori-san," someone came over to me. I looked up and tilted my head in question. "Would you like me to collect the rest of the group still at the execution?"

"Ah, yes, that would great, thank you. Please take someone with you," I said, smiling. The person nodded and walked off.

"I don't know how anyone can stand watching an execution," Nagi said grimly. Everyone agreed.

Now, let me explain some things for you. The Vampire League, was a government of vampires who, led the vampires. They decided the rules-for vampires and humans. Executions were seen on many occasions, for some of the most ridiculous things. Each area had a government of vampires which decided everything. The leader of our area's Vampire League, was named Salazar. Or, 'Prince Salazar'.

He was brutal-every year, there were many executions. Although, they had lessened, as Salazar realized this: he was killing off his only food resource. And so, he was a bit more lenient now, but that didn't change anything.

Also, many people decided to get...Sired by vampire Masters. Masters were vampires who turned people into vampires. To get Sired, means to turn into a vampire and work for the person who Turned you.

Yeah...I'd been bitten. I was being careless and naive, but...what happens, happens. You can't change the past. But I wish I could. I wish that vampires hadn't taken over humanity. I wish vampires hadn't killed all my family.

**Flashback **

"Ami-onee!" I exclaimed happily, grabbing onto her arm.

**(A/N: Ami is the older sibling.) **

She ruffled my hair, laughing. Ami was about 12 years old, while I was 7.

"Let's go get some berries for mother and father, okay?" she said, holding her straw basket in her arms. We had planned to have a blueberry pie for lunch, which I was very looking forward to. I nodded to her question, jumping up in excitement.

We exited the house and walked into the forest, looking around for those berry bushes we saw before.

**Time Leap **

I had that strange feeling of being watched, and a slight shiver ran down my spine.

"Ami-onee, I think we have enough berries. Let's go!" I said, smiling.

"Eh? Okay, sure," she said, putting the last berry in the basket. She grabbed my hand and we walked back toward the exit of the forest.

I looked over at the corner of my eye, and thought I saw a shadow peeking out behind the edge of a tree.

'Must be my imagination,' I thought. 'Yeah, that must be it.'

If only it was that simple.

Suddenly, the shadow jumped out and leapt at Ami, my suspicions being confirmed-unfortunately.

Ami dropped the basket she was carrying in surprise, as the vampire bared his fangs. I hid behind Ami in fear, my whole body shaking.

But Ami was pushed to the other side by the vampire, who instantly pierced Ami's neck with his fangs. Ami tried to push him away, but to no avail. I stood there, horrified, and unable to do anything.

Once the vampire was satisfied with his meal, he release Ami, who dropped onto the ground.

"Ami-onee!" I exclaimed.

But before I could even take one step towards Ami's limp body, the vampire was already tearing her apart in a frenzy. Her leg. Her arm. There goes her head... It's rolling towards me... I can see her horrified expression, frozen as if it was a statue. The vampire tore her body into several pieces, his eyes a mad red.

Once he was done, he stood up and turned around to me. He smirked, licking his fingers which were coated in thick, red blood.

Red...

He laughed...no, it was more of a giggle, and gave me a look that said, 'you're lucky you weren't the one I had in my sights,'.

Then he left.

Once I was sure he was gone, my knees gave in and I fell to the ground.

"A-Ami-onee..." I whispered, choking on my words. I finally felt the tears overcoming the fear, salty drops of water falling down my cheeks.

I shouted in frustration, but it came out in more of a choke-sob.

I was weak. Why couldn't I do anything? And why had I come out alive? I just stood there... I didn't do anything, nor did anything happen to me.

This world is so fucked up.

**End of Flashback **

I gritted my teeth at the memory. Not like I could change it. But if maybe... If maybe I was the one who died, Ami could've been the one in this seat right now. Not me. She would've been part of the legendary Group of Seven, not me. She would be alive, not me.

"Amu. Amu!" Someone shouted in front of my face, bringing me back to my senses. "Snap out of it," Kukai said.

"Eh? Ah...sorry," I said, giving my best fake-smile.

"Stop faking, faker," Rima said, pointing at my smile.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Stupid," Utau said. "We've known you for...forever. Don't think we can't tell when you're faking."

"Utau's right, Amu. Is there something bothering you?" Tadase asked. I gave a tired smile.

"It's nothing...just...this world is a fucked up place," I said.

"You got that right," Nagi said, nodding in agreement.

"This isn't the time to be joking, idiot," Rima said, tackling her boyfriend, Nagi. He laughed, scratching his head.

"But I guess you're right," Kukai said, his usual grin gone and a grim smile replacing it.

We lived in Hell.

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**Edit-9/10/13-Well...that was...the first chapter! :D By the way, Amu and Ikuto are at Mcdonalds, so they can't talk right now. :D What did you guys think of the first chapter? Aaaaaahhhh hope you guys liked it! Meeep...? Haha, well, if you like this, go ahead and read the next chapters...yeah... I might edit the next chapter as well...hm...**

**Oh, by the way, I was thinking of putting omakes (extras) at the end of each chapter! What do you think? Got any ideas? Anyway, please review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2-Found

**Hey guys! I found a moment where I could write the next chapter, so here it is! :D Procrastination~! Anyway, school started up this week, and I thought I would be so much busier. Guess I'm still the procrastinating lazy couch potato I was! -_-'' So enjoy the next chapter, and let's see if I can actually come up with any ideas. XD**

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**FLASHBACK (itseemseverychapterstartswithaflashback)**

**Amu POV**

"Mother, father, where are we going? It's getting late, and the sun is about to set! You know what happens...when **they** come out..." I clenched my fist at the memory of that vampire.

"Do not worry, Amu. We have been given permission by one of the higher ranking vampires to walk around at night. No other vampire can touch us. We will be visiting him for some business," my mother replied, gripping my hand.

No matter what, I knew that vampires would bring misfortune with them wherever they went. And most of that misfortune was caused by those evil creatures.

My father rubbed my back reassuringly, and I smiled up at him.

"What are we doing visiting his home at this time?" I asked innocently, the naivety practically dripping off of me. My mother had a stern expression on her face for a moment, then smiled.

"You''l find out when we get there," she said. Luckily, we hadn't come across any vampires looking to disobey rules.

"Who is this vampire, anyway?" I asked.

"His name is Kanin. He is a high ranking vampire, who has called us out, and many more," my father said.

"Kanin...?" I asked, waiting for more to be said. Realising what I was asking, my father replied.

"He only has one name."

"Oh."

**TIME LEAP**

"I'm pretty sure you know why you're here, Midori, Tsumugu," said the man Kanin. He was tall-and I mean tall-with dark eyes you'd think were black. He wore a black coat, had black hair, and even underneath was a black long sleeve shirt with pants. And did I mention he was wearing black? The only difference was that he had skin nearly as pale as paper. I stared awe-struck at the man.

My mother and father nodded at the man, their hands behind their backs and their faces serious. I decided to do the same, feeling stupid.

"Yes, I have come here to Sire you. And your daughter here." I almost gasped. Not. 'Sire?' I thought. My parent's expressions did not change. Without thinking, I tugged at my mother's sleeve. She turned her head slightly.

"Mother, what's Sire?" I asked. She looked at Kanin as if to asked permission to speak to me. He nodded. She knelled down to my ear.

"When a vampire Sire's someone, they...bite them," she said cautiously. My eyes widened. "They Sire someone with permission from them. They Sire humans to grant them immortality. And the humans, now vampire, will eternally work for the Sire," she continued, not noticing my little gesture. She stood back up.

I couldn't control myself. I could not stay silent while a **vampire **decided to Sire us. I would **never** become the thing I absolutely **hated **the most in the world. My blood was boiling. Blood was coming out of my palm, and I noticed Kanin staring at me intently, breathing hard and trying to hold himself to discipline.

"You bastard," I said through clenched teeth. My mother and father looked shocked at me. "You **really** think I'll just sit around while my family and I turn into one of **you!" **I shouted, my voice slowly getting louder. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU THINK WE'RE LOWER BEINGS THAN YOU, DON'T YOU?! You treat us like shit, and want us to become one of **you**, just so we can slave around and be your workers!" My mother was trying to shush me while my father apologised to Kanin.

Kanin and I stared into each others eyes. His expression was unaffected, while I was pissed off. Then he smirked.

"You really think you can disobey me? Girl, that's a bad move. And to punish you..." He looked at my parents, as if a light bulb lit up above his head. "I'll kill them."

**END OF FLASHBACK**

I sighed as I remembered the red blood and screams.

"What's wrong?" Rima asked from next to me, worry in her eyes. I smiled back reassuringly.

"Don't worry, it's just...something about them," I said, emphasis on the 'them'.

"Oh...I understand," she said, nodding her head. And I knew she understood; she had told me about more awful things the first time we met.

I used to be a lone wolf, (pun not intended) until Rima, Nagi, Kukai, Tadase, and Yaya found me shrivelled up on the hard, rock floor with a dimly lit fire trying desperately to warm me up.

**ANOTHER FLASHBACK**

I coughed violently. At night, the cave was cold and lonely, at day it was a desperation to keep the heat off of me. From everything. Vampires weren't my only enemy-wild animals roaming around would try just as hard to kill me.

"Are you sure we should take her back to the camp? She looks kinda like she caught a disease..." a girl said, emotionless.

"We can't just leave her! You remember the promise I made, right? I vowed to never leave a person in need," I boy said. Just his voice made my heart flutter. Which was weird.

"Tadase's right. We can probably help her, and plus, we need more people in our group," said a boy...? He sounded a little bit like a boy.

"Yaya agrees with Nagi!" Shouted a girl excitedly.

"Yeah, Rima. I know you have...trust issues, but we should take her," said another boy.

"Whatever, Kukai," said the emotionless girl. I think she was...Rima. Yaya was the excited one...the one who had made a vow was...Tadase? Kukai was the one who spoke...second-last. The guy who sounded like a girl was...Nagi. I sighed. Whatever I was doing, it wasn't helping. The pain was slowly spreading through my body, and it wasn't going to be long before I would die. I felt someone carry me in their arms. They brushed a strand of hair away and spoke softly to me.

"It's alright now. We'll...take care of you," he said. He sounded like...the Tadase guy. I snuggled into his chest and fell asleep.

**FLASHBACK CONTINUED-Tadase POV**

I brushed away a strand of her hair.

"It's alright now. We'll...take care of you," I said. I felt her snuggle into my chest, sending butterflies through it. What is this feeling? And why do I feel so sure of her?

We got into the car and silently drove off.

We arrived at the house, some of the Fighters greeting us as we walked through the door.

"Who's the new girl?" Asked one of them.

"We found her," I said, not giving any more information.

"Hey Tadase, take her up to the spare room on level two, alright?" Nagi said. I nodded.

I placed the girl on the bed. She had a pained look on her face. 'A nightmare?' I wondered. I hesitated for a bit. Then started singing.

Just close your eyes,

the sun is going down.

You'll be alright

no one can hurt you now.

Come morning light,

You and I'll be safe and sound...

A tear slipped down her cheek, but she smiled as I sung. I smiled gently.

"You'll be alright now. We can take care of you," I said.

I reluctantly stood up and exited her room.

"How is she?" Rima asked, the same emotionless face plastered on. I raised an eyebrow. "N-not that I care. Nagi and the rest want to know," she said, looking away.

"I think she's alright. I didn't notice any blood, so I don't think she's got any wounds. But I think she caught a cold. Or the flu," I said, looking back at her door.

"Oh. I see," Rima said, going back downstairs to Kukai, Nagi and Yaya.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

**Amu POV**

"Hey Tadase," I said, looking through the cupboards and the giant fridge. If we didn't have such a big one, how could we feed the group?

"What's up?" He asked, walking up to me.

"We're running out of food..." I said.

"What? No way! We had tons!" He said, looking through the fridge.

"Yeah, we **had **tons. There's too many people we need to feed each day..." I said, looking back at the people standing around the lounge. Tadase's brow furrowed.

"It's too late to go shopping," he said.

We lived fairly normal lives, the only difference was vampires. Even if it was only five pm, it was still too dangerous to go out and shop for supplies. I'd once seen some humans roaming around looking for food, as all the shops had closed for the day. Even if it was only 5:30 pm.

I felt sorry for them-they had no idea how dangerous it was. That night, not many people were able to sleep.

Because there were horrible screams coming from outside.

"So what are we supposed to do? It's too dangerous now," I said, starting to worry. Kukai walked up to us.

"What's up?" he asked, his hands behind his head and a huge grin on his face.

"We don't have enough food to feed everyone dinner..." Tadase said.

His grin vanished and he let his hands drop to his side.

"Serious?" He asked. I nodded.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"It wouldn't be fair to let people starve the night and people eat, and even if we split it equally, there still isn't enough for people to be fully happy," Tadase said. Kukai sighed and leaned against the kitchen island.

"You know what that means. We have to go out."

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**Lilyflower991028: Hey guys! Ok I'm back to talking with imaginary people.**

**Amu: Hi! :)**

**Ikuto: Yo.**

**Lilyflower991028: Was this much of a cliffhanger? I don't think so. So, the song Tadase sung is called: Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift. Go Hunger Games! :D Luv that series...**

**Ikuto: Yeah, it's much better than this.**

**Lilyflower991028: Oh shut up! Anyway, review please! At first, I decided that this would just be action and drama, but now it's a romance. Between Ikuto and Amu, just so you know. Even if there were some Tadamu moments. Let Me Heal Your Scars is really popular, and I'm surprised, cause I thought this one would be more popular. :( This one is actually better than Let Me Heal Your Scars, to tell you the truth. **

**Amu: Review!**


	3. Chapter 3-Suicide Trip

**Lilyflower991028: Hey guys! I hadn't even realised I was neglecting this story. So I'm writing this early! :D**

**Ikuto: Where am I in the story?!**

**Amu: Where'd you come from? Who are you?**

**Ikuto: Who are you?**

**Lilyflower991028: Woah! Ikuto, you come later. Get outta here! *Pushes him off cliff***

**Amu: Why the heck are we on a cliff?!**

**Lilyflower991028: ...oops? And also, you guys have talked together in this opening for 3 chapters, and you still don't know each other?**

**Amu: ...**

**Ikuto: Damn...you...**

**Lilyflower991028: *laugh nervously* Enjoy!**

**Amu: Hey! **

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**Amu POV**

Recap: "We have to go out," Kukai said.

I laughed humourlessly.

"You can't be serious!" I said. Kukai gave me a serious look. I stopped laughing. "Don't be so naive! Do you know how late it is? The sun's already down. There's probably a few of them roaming around outside the house right now!" I shouted, but low enough so others won't hear.

"I agree with Hinamori. We can't go out now!" Tadase agreed.

"We can't have people starving! They'll get weaker, and weaker without food. Then what if we get attacked? They don't have a chance of surviving, and we can't help them if we don't get enough food either!" Kukai argued.

"But there's more chance of someone dying if we do go out!" I shouted, my voice getting louder.

"You guys, keep it down," Rima walked over to us. She saw Kukai and I arguing and stopped. "Is this what I think it is? You can't be arguing about that, could you?" she asked.

The only time Kukai and I argue, and I mean the **only **time, is when it's about foraging for food.

Tadase nodded his head at Rima's question. Rima sighed and rubbed her temples.

"So, who do you agree with?" Kukai and I said in unison.

"I don't know," she said.

"Well right now, it's 2 against 1. My way," I said. Kukai glared at me. Nagi walked over and put his arm around Rima.

"What's up?" He asked. Rima blushed.

"They're fighting over if we should have a smaller dinner tonight, or go out and forage for food," Rima answered. Nagi sighed.

"Again?" He asked. Rima nodded.

Yaya jumped over to us.

"Yaya wants to get in on the conversation!" She said.

"What do you guys think we should do?" Kukai asked.

"What's happening?" Yaya asked.

"Food," was all Nagi needed to say to make Yaya understand.

"This is troublesome. There are six of us. It could end up equal..." Nagi said.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Just vote," Rima said.

"Ok, who votes we go and forage for food?" Kukai asked, putting up his hand. Yaya put up her hand.

"Yaya thinks it's exciting!" she shouted.

"Who votes we stay?" Tadase asked, putting up his hand. I put up my hand as well. We all looked over at Nagi and Rima.

"What's wrong? Aren't you guys going to vote?" I asked.

"We're kinda conflicted about this. Or more like, we don't care." Rima said, emotionless.

"Where have I been the past 2 chapters?!" I turned around and saw Utau.

"Utau!" I said, smiling and taking her hands into my own. "Talking to your imaginary friends again?"

"They're not imaginary, they're the readers and the author," she replied. I laughed.

"Sure," I said.

"It's true! We are imaginary characters made up from someone's imagination," she said.

"Whatever. Anyway, you can settle this!" I said, smiling. She looked at me questioningly.

"What?" She asked.

"Go out, or stay in?" I asked. She looked at me understandingly.

"What about you guys?" She asked.

"Kukai and Yaya: Go out. Me and Tadase: Stay in," I said. She looked over at Kukai and slightly blushed. 'Oh no. Why did I tell her Kukai was on the opposite side?' I wondered.

"Uh...well, I think we should go out..." she said quietly. 'Great, of course she's going on Kukai's side!' I thought, irritated.

Kukai ran over and hugged her, making her blush. I sighed.

"Come on, Tadase, let's get the equipment," I said, walking up the stairs. Tadase scurried behind me.

"We can't lose another person...another Fighter...another...friend..." I whispered, opening the door to the armoury.

Tadase rubbed my back.

"Don't worry, this time, I'll make sure we don't lose another person. I'm sorry you lost Kentaro..." He said.

"No, it's not your fault, you have nothing to apologise for," I said, forcing a smile. Tadase smiled back, making me wonder how perfect a guy could be.

**FLASHBACK **

"You sure we should do this?" Kentaro asked me.

Kentaro Hideki, practically my best friend, and maybe...more, was part of our group. Well, that is, before a month ago.

"Well, you heard what Kukai said, right? He has pretty good reasoning, and I don't see why not. You told me we've never lost anyone before, right? I don't think it's gonna happen now," I replied.

Kentaro mumbled something I couldn't pick up.

"Pretty much everyone uses swords, right? How are we supposed to know which is which?" I asked. It had only been a few weeks since I joined, and in that time we had never had to go out and forage for food.

Kentaro opened the door.

"It's pretty self explanatory," he said, pointing at the labels above each sword. But one caught my eye.

"Yorukozu!" I screamed gleefully, picking up my katana and looking over it. I didn't need her, so I hadn't seen her the past few weeks.

Kentaro patted my shoulder.

"Calm down," he said, chuckling slightly. I blushed.

"Ok, Tadase, Kukai...Rima, you...Nagi...and me. That's all, right?" I asked, already starting to pick up swords. Kentaro nodded and started helping me.

**SHORT TIME LEAP**

"Ok, everybody ready?" I asked, swinging Yorukozu onto my back. Kukai laughed.

"You sound like you're the leader or something. You've only been here for a few weeks!" Kukai exclaimed. I wacked him softly.

"Shut up!" I said. He laughed again.

"This isn't the time," Rima practically sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Let's go!" I said, about to open the door when I was stopped in my tracks.

"Yaya wants to go!" She shouted, pouting.

"I'm sorry Yaya, but you're too young and inexperienced. I'm sure when you get more training, you can come with us," Tadase said, smiling apologetically.

"We'll come back straight away. I'm sure there's nothing interesting going on out there," I added. I patted Yaya's head and smiled. "See you later," I said, opening the door. Or at least, I wanted to see her later.

**TIME LEAP **

"This is getting us nowhere!" I whispered, diving behind a tree. "We haven't found anything yet; vampire or food!"

"We just have to keep looking. Not many people go out to forage for food at night, so there should be places we can pick at," Nagi whispered back.

"Rima, put on your night-vision goggles, and I'll put you on my shoulders. That way we can see better," Kukai said, crouching down.

Rima obliged and climbed onto him, looking around.

"Do you see anything?" I asked. Rima didn't answer.

"Rima? What's wrong?" Nagi asked. No answer from Rima.

"Rima, this isn't funn-" Kentaro started.

"Oh crap," she whispered.

"What? What's wrong?" Tadase asked.

"Run!" She whispered, jumping off Kukai's back. I gave Kentaro a confused look, but followed Rima. I caught up and ran next to her.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I asked.

"I saw one of them," she said.

"Then why are we running?!" I whispered. "We should just fight! There's only one, right?"

"Don't be naive! Have you ever seen them fight a human? We hardly stand a chance!" Rima hissed.

"It's six against one! How could we lose?" I asked.

"Ok, let me rephrase that. Have you ever seen one of them fight humanS?" She said.

"No, what's the big deal?" I asked, itching to fight.

"Ugh, just run!" She practically shouted. I looked behind us.

"Oh great. We've lost them!" I said to no one in particular.

"What? How's that possible? They were right behind us!" I looked to my right.

"I see Kentaro!" I whispered, pointing to him. He waved to signal to us, and I waved back.

**Kentaro POV **

"Amu, what are you doing?! Move!" I whispered, hoping somehow she would hear me. I gestured at her, but she mistook it as a wave and returned it. I gave myself a face-palm. 'I'll just have to get to her quick enough!' I thought.

I swerved sideways and started towards her.

"Amu, move!" I whispered, wishing for a miracle.

**Amu POV **

Kentaro started moving towards us. Now that he was closer, I could just hear what he was saying.

"Move!" He whispered. I gave him a, 'what the hell' look. He slapped himself on the forehead.

I looked around and only then saw the vampire closing in on us.

"Oh god," Rima said. We couldn't out run a fricking vampire, those things were like, inhumane. Oh wait. They were.

I tried to swerve out of the way, but the vampire wasn't faltering. I gritted my teeth and braced myself for impact. Until I saw something jump in front of me.

It took a few moments to realise what-or who-it was.

My eyes widened. I couldn't even gasp-I was too shocked.

"KENTARO!"

* * *

**Lilyflower991028: Hey guys! Hope you liked this chappie. It was a bit short, sorry for that.**

**Amu: Kentaro!**

**Rima: Oh god, oh god, oh god!**

**Kukai, Nagi and Tadase: Where are those guys?**

**Lilyflower991028: ...why is it even after the chapter ends, you guys just HAVE to continue?**

**Amu, Rima, Kukai, Nagi, Kentaro and Tadase: *stops running in mid-air*...**

**Lilyflower991028: Review?**


	4. Chapter 4-Alone

**Lilyflower991028: Hey guys! I got a review from a guest saying that this was a good story, so I felt pumped and wanted to write the story right away! :)**

**Rima: When did you start letting other people other than Amu and Ikuto take part in the intro?**

**Lilyflower991028: Well it's not like you care, you get more spotlight. Sharing is caring! :D**

**Rima: ... ... You're weird.**

**Amu: You only just realised that? Oh wait! Ahem. KENTARO! D:**

**Rima: Please stop that...**

**Amu: !**

**Rima: Enjoy... -.-**

* * *

"KENTARO!" I screamed. But it was too late. Much too late.

Blood had already splattered everywhere. I stood there, horrified, but more over, terrified. With tears streaming down my face non-stop, my legs buckled and I fell to the floor, kneeling beside Kentaro's limp body.

The vampire's eyes turned red at the mere sight of blood.

'This is all they care about, isn't it? Making our lives absolutely miserable, while they act like higher beings. Wait, scratch that. They aren't beings. They aren't even alive. We don't deserve this. Those monsters do, after all they've done,' I thought, clenching my fist.

My pink bangs fell over my face, tears still dripping onto the ground. I grabbed the hilt of Yorukozu and glared at the vampire in front of me.

He licked his fingers, still coated with dark, red blood.

Memories of Ami suddenly flooded back, making me snarl at the vampire. 'You monsters deserve to die. Even if you're already dead.' My irrational mind said to me.

The vampire smirked. I growled and lunged at him, unsheathing Yorukozu.

**(A/N: You can think of Yorukozu as Yoru, if you want to. But I just like Yorukozu, that's all.)**

The vampire dodged, but I was able to cut off a strand of his hair. I smirked.

"You're quick. But not quick enough!" I said, lunging at him again.

He swiftly jumped up, fangs baring as he came back down to greet me. He was quick, sure, but like I said, not quick enough. If he moved sideways, I would too. Rima looked flabbergasted at us. She probably couldn't follow our movements.

I swung Yorukozu, just slicing his arm, making blood spurt in my face.

"Argh!" I yelled, rubbing my eyes. The red liquid stung, burning my eyes. 'What the heck is with his blood?!' I thought. I opened them and saw the vampire running towards me.

"You think you're the only one who can use a sword?" He unsheathed his sword, which was hiding behind his coat.

He swung at me, eyes mad and glinting. He laughed hysterically as he cut my stomach. I barely grimaced. 'Kill him! Slice him up! Make his blood ooze, for all the people who SUFFERED.' My irrational mind screamed into my ear. I laughed the same way he did, and lunged. He barely dodged, allowing me to pay him back with a cut on the stomach as well.

He glared.

"Tch. You're not half bad," he said, stopping in front of me. I didn't change the glare plastered on my face.

"Oh really? Not half bad? You say that, when you're already tired," I smirked, noticing him panting. His glare hardened.

"I could say the same to you," he said. 'Ugh, he wants to drink my blood. Figures, considering how fast my heart is beating,' I thought, disgusted.

"Amu!" I looked over. 'Tadase? Kukai? And Nagi?' I thought. Rima ran over to Nagi and hugged him.

"You're alive!" She said, relief flooding her face. He nodded.

"Amu!" Tadase looked relieved as well.

Nagi and Rima shared a passionate kiss as Kukai and Tadase stared at me and the vampire.

The vampire started applauding.

"Well, that was a really nice performance, and I'm glad you got reunited. But..." He looked back at me and glared. "We have to finish this." He lunged for me. I quickly dodged, swinging Yorukozu at him.

He jumped back a few metres and was about to attack again, when he stopped.

**(A/N: Australian measurements.) **

"Crap, they've come out," he said, his face stiffening. "Well, I'd love to stay, but it seems the Rabids have come..." He said, disappearing into the shadows.

"What? Come back and fight!" I shouted. I was about to walk back to the group when I saw Rima's terrified face. She wasn't looking at me, luckily. She was looking behind me.

I swung around, staring into the eyes of a monster.

It was so extremely thin, it looked just like a skeleton. It had drool dripping over the edge of it's mouth, it's eyes completely black. It snarled at me.

I couldn't do anything, it was practically already on top of me. 'Swing the sword! It'll work, do it!' My irrational mind shouted at me. It already had control over me, what was the point of shouting orders at me?

I swung Yorukozu blindly.

There was a deafening screech from the monster, as the sword pierced body and flesh. The monster scratched at me, claws visible on the edge of it's fingers.

I flung it away, blood oozing from it's mouth and the wound. Tadase brought his sword down into the monster's wound, finishing what I hadn't.

"Thanks," I said, running over to him.

"It's nothing," he said.

"What was that?" I asked, kicking the limp body.

"Rabids."

**FLASHBACK END **

I opened the door to the armoury and grabbed some of the swords, while Tadase grabbed the others.

"Got everything?" I asked, trying to forget that night. Tadase nodded and we walked downstairs, handing out the swords.

"Ok guys, let's do this," I said, opening the door and running into the shadows.

**TIME LEAP **

"Amu, let us help!" Tadase shouted over the clanging of metal swords.

"No! This is between me and him!" I shouted, gripping Yorukozu.

The vampire smirked.

"It's nice to see you again, Amu, was it? You haven't changed at all," he said. My glare hardened.

"Don't talk like you're an old friend of mine, or something. You know what you did, and you'll pay for it!" I said through gritted teeth.

"What I did? Don't you mean...what you did? It is your fault, of course, if you think about it," the vampire said matter-of-factly.

"Shut up!" I said.

"You were weak, and had to have him protect you. If you were stronger, than he wouldn't have died," he said.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted, lunging at him. I swung Yorukozu, cutting off a bit of his hair as he dodged the full blow of my attack.

He was right. It was my fault that Kentaro died. Memories flooded back and I shoved them down, almost choking as I tried to hold back the tears.

He swung his sword at me, the same mad look in his eyes. I flipped backwards, dodging his attack.

'What's wrong with you? Kill him! You're much stronger than this!' My other mind screamed.

'I'm not going to lose myself and kill people! You know what happens when I lose control...' I said back.

'So what? More fun!' she said, madness dripping off her voice.

'But you'll try to kill my friends! I can't have you doing that!' I shouted at her.

'Hmph. What's the point of friends? You don't need them when you have me,' she said, luring me in.

"What's wrong, Amu? You seem...dazed," the vampire smiled at me. It wasn't a smirk, or a smile your friend would give you. Instead, it sent chills down my spine.

"It's nothing," I said, lunging at him. 'I'll show him just how much I've improved,' I thought, swinging Yorukozu in mid-air. It pierced his chest, and pretty deep, too.

He grimaced, but the look was replaced by a smirk.

"You've gotten good," he said, swerving and swinging his sword at me. Our swords clashed, making a force so strong I could feel the wind rush past me.

'I'm finishing this,' my other self said, obviously bored.

'Wait what?!' Before I could even realise what was happening, I was standing over the vampire's body. He smirked.

"I guess you think I deserve this, huh? When will it be until you realise you should die as well?" He asked. Without answering, I stabbed him in the neck.

Tadase, Rima, Kukai and Nagi ran over to me.

"Are you alright?" Tadase asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." I replied.

I was about to say something else when a snarl erupted from the silence. I turned around in horror.

"Rabids." I whispered.

**FLASHBACK **

"Oh yeah, you guys never told me what Rabids were," I said, sipping my coffee.

The memory of Kentaro threatened to swallow me whole, and nightmares invaded my dreams each night.

"You really wanna know?" Rima asked. I nodded.

"Well, you already know what a Rabid looks like," Tadase said. I nodded, looking down at my lap.

"Tall, slim, hunched over, and black eyes," Nagi said.

"In other words, ugly," Rima said. Nagi chuckled nervously and put his arm around her.

"A while ago, 5 years, tops...a virus broke out," Kukai explained, his usual grin gone and a serious look replacing it.

"It's called Red Lung," Tadase added.

"The ones who...turn, we call them Rabids, as you know," Nagi said. "They lose control of their minds and will kill anything in their path."

"They're threats to humans and vampires alike," Kukai said.

"Why's it called Red Lung?" I asked.

"..." Tadase hesitated. "It's called Red Lung, because after a year or so, the holder of the virus will...literally drop dead. Red foam will come out of their mouth...it's not a pretty sight."

"Statistics say that when one dies, two more are produced," Kukai said grimly.

"How did the virus break out?" I asked.

"I think some scientists were messing around with some vampires. They starved the vampires and saw what would happen. Or at least, that's what I've heard," Rima said, emotionless.

"So vampires aren't our only enemy..." I said softly.

**END OF FLASHBACK **

The Rabids snarled at us. There were tons of them-it wasn't any use to count. We all stood back to back, swords at the ready.

"Where the heck did all these Rabids come from?!" I whispered.

"Maybe it was all the noise we were making..." Tadase replied.

"But there shouldn't be this many," Nagi said. I murmured in agreement.

The Rabids lunged at us. I swung Yorukozu, cutting off the Rabid's head. They came one after another, clawing at us. 'Where are they all coming from?!' I thought, slicing through another monster.

"Run!" I shouted, when I noticed an opening in the horde of Rabids. We cut through them and took our chance.

The Rabids were practically screaming at us, claws and fangs menacingly glinting in the moonlight.

I ran up to the front of the group, cutting down Rabids. What was going on? And why were there **so **many Rabids?

"I'll take the lead and create an opening for us to escape!" I shouted, cutting down more Rabids.

I looked back for a second to check on my friends.

Most of the Rabids had gone; there were a lot less.

"Come on! It's the end of the forest! Hurry!" I said.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice the sleek pale body sliding towards Tadase.

"Watch out!" I warned, but once again, it was too late.

The Rabid leaped on top of Tadase. He turned around and swung his sword. He was able to take out the Rabid, but it just got back up, even with the wound Tadase had made.

I looked at the Rabids increasing on us. I looked over at my friends.

They were tired. I knew. They were panting and sweating, gripping their swords.

They were probably really afraid.

And I was too.

How could I help them? What could I do in this state? I was just a mere weakling.

Wait...

As the Rabids stared us down, I looked down at Yorukozu.

'You're alright with this...right?'

"God I hope this works," I whispered, slicing the palm of my hand with Yorukozu. "Hey Rabids! Over here!" I shouted, raising my palm in the air.

Rabids were attracted to blood, humans and vampires alike. Well, that is, if vampires had any blood.

The Rabids hissed at me, crawling towards me on all fours.

I turned and ran for my life.

I could hear the snarls behind me, my palm dripping with blood.

'Sorry, Yorukozu. You aren't used to cutting your master...'

I panted, the loss of blood getting larger and larger. It wouldn't be long until I couldn't run anymore.

I skidded to a halt and turned around.

"Let's do this, Yorukozu," I said, changing into a battle stance.

The Rabids stopped as well, their dark eyes boring into me.

I let out a battle cry and lunged forward.

"Amu!" Someone shouted. I sliced through a Rabid and saw Tadase limping towards me, bleeding arm in hand.

"Tadase?!" I exclaimed, cutting through another Rabid.

He ran up to me, grimacing as he cut a Rabid in half.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"What about you?!" I asked, looking at his wounds. "Did you get bitten?"

"I don't think so."

We stood back to back, slicing through Rabids.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"They...they didn't make it..." Tadase said grimly. My eyes widened.

"I-I see..." was all I could say.

I would process this through my mind later.

"If I Turn...promise me you'll do...what must be done," Tadase said.

"What the heck is with your dramatic cliché line?" I practically laughed. Which was weird, considering the situation we were in. "Well, I guess I'll add more cliché stuff in. Don't kid around! I'm not gonna do that, idiot."

"You have to."

"No way, baka."

"I know you'll do the right thing when it comes to it."

"No."

Tadase laughed awkwardly.

"I can't hold up much longer," he said, his voice more serious now.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of the Rabids. We can get out of here if we try."

"The girl saving the guy? Lame..."

"Whatever."

I sliced a Rabid in half, wiping my hand across my sweaty forehead, leaving a trail of blood.

"Whoops..." I said.

The Rabids screamed and hissed, rushing towards me.

'I thought you could handle them, but this is getting BORING!' My other self drawled.

'Wait-!'

I groaned when I noticed myself out of my body.

Great.

'Done! You should learn to take care of yourself more,' my other self said.

I swapped places with my other self.

"N-nice work," Tadase said. I turned around.

"Thanks," I said. I noticed his pale face and sweaty head. "Hey are you alright?"

"Y-yeah..." he said. Suddenly, he fell to his knees.

"Whoa!" I caught him, but that didn't stop him from falling on the ground. "You sure you're alright?"

"W-well...I dunno..."

"We have to get back. You need medical help. Here, put your arm around my shoulder."

"I'm fine, really."

"Do it. That's an order." I saw Tadase flinch and laughed silently. He put his arm around my shoulder, and we carefully stood up together.

"Come on, let's go."

**TIME LEAP **

"Rest in peace," I whispered, my hands together. "May your soul rise to the heavens."

I sighed and got up, hesitating as I started back towards the house.

My eyes were red from crying, and my lips slightly purple from the cold air.

Tadase...didn't make it back to the house. We were so, so close...but it was too late. Due to blood loss, he fainted...and didn't wake up again.

I wasn't able to find the other's bodies. It was a mystery. To me.

I was pretty reluctant to go back to Utau. She would hate me. I knew she always liked Kukai, and what had I done? Left them.

I ran through the cold wind, not caring if I died from hypothermia. It was much shorter to just go through the forest, but I wasn't about to risk my life again.

There were-for some unknown reason-tons of Rabid hordes in the forest.

I wasn't taking my chances.

I had to tell Utau and Yaya what happened. I owed them that much at least. If I didn't make it back, they might try looking for us. They might die too.

Or maybe this was just an excuse because I was afraid to die.

Either way, I felt like I had to tell someone.

Even if they would hate me for it.

**TIME LEAP **

I opened the door. Yaya ran up to me.

"Amu-chi!" She shouted. I sniffled. She stopped in her tracks.

"Where's...the others?" She asked hesitantly. I couldn't stop the tears from bursting out again. Yaya blinked at me. "Uh, Amu-chi?! Utau-chi!" She screeched. Utau came running down.

"What's wrong? Amu?!" She shouted when she saw me in tears. "W-w-what's wrong? And where are the others?" She asked, leading me to a couch and sitting me down. I hiccuped through my sobs. And if that wasn't enough, I tried to speak at the same time.

"Th-they...Tadase...I'm so sorry...Rima and Nagi...and Kukai...I'm so, so sorry...they-*hic!*-I'm sorry..." I tried to say.

"Whoa, calm down!" Utau, said, grabbing some tissues and softly wiping away the tears.

I stopped crying and tried to assess the situation.

I had just lost the most precious things in the world to me-my friends. But did I deserve to call them friends? I left them. I didn't help them. I left them to die. 'Tadase...Rima...Kukai...Nagi...I'm so, so sorry...' I thought.

I stood up and punched my fist into the wall, making blisters form on my knuckles.

"Amu!" Utau shouted, grabbing my hand. "You've got blisters...they'll hurt when you take a bath," she said, pulling me gently to the couch and sitting me down. "Now calm down, and tell us what happened."

"Don't worry Amu-chi, you can tell us anything!" Yaya smiled. I paused for a moment.

"We were attacked by Rabids while foraging for food..." I started. "...I could hold them off but the others...they..." I swallowed, trying to ignore my dry throat. "The others...didn't make it." 'That wasn't all, was it?' I thought. "And it's because...I didn't help them." I said bluntly.

Utau's eyes widened.

"Even...Kukai?" She whispered. I nodded grimly. I quickly glanced up at her. Tears were streaming down her face, and a horrible feeling of guilt spread through me. "You...you-!" She shouted.

"I'm sorry, Utau," I said. She started weakly beating my chest, tears spilling out.

"I HATE YOU! HE'S DEAD! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!" She screamed at me, running up the stairs. Yaya gave me a look I couldn't decipher, and then ran after Utau.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, something I do when I have mixed emotions.

"Amu-san?" A fighter walked down the stairs.

"Yes, is something the matter?" I asked, sighing.

"You're back."

"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious."

"Where are the others?"

I sighed and glared at him, making him flinch.

"I-I'm sorry, Amu-san. I shouldn't ask questions." He ran up the stairs, probably to warn everyone about my bad mood.

'What am I doing?' I thought.

My family is gone. Ami. Mother. Father. My other relatives are probably either too far away from me, or killed by vampires.

Most of my friends are gone. Kentaro. Tadase. Kukai. Rima. Nagi.

My heart ached, yearning for the things I loved most.

Yaya and Utau were still here, but they probably hated me now. And it wouldn't be long before word spread around the group, and then everyone would hate me.

But it would be better that way. When I died, they wouldn't mourn me. They wouldn't cry at my funeral. Well, that is if anyone actually came to my funeral. Or if anyone actually buried me.

I sighed and rested the back of my hand on my forehead.

"What am I going to do?" I whispered to myself.

**TIME LEAP **

'What the heck am I doing?' I wondered.  
The night air was cold and eerie as I made my way through the forest. 'No sign of Rabids so far,' I thought. 'No sign of any...vampires, either...'

I breathed into my palms and rubbed them together, a desperation to keep warm.

"Why the heck is it so cold?" I whispered to no one in particular. Something glinted in the distance. I ducked behind a tree and peeked out.

A countless number of vampires ran past me.

'What was that all about?' I wondered.

'If you're so interested, then why don't you check it out?' My other self whispered.

Before she had even finished her sentence, I was already running after the vampires.

**TIME LEAP **

I peeked through the gigantic doors. 'Are the vampires having a conference or something?' I wondered.

"I predict you all know why you were called here," a vampire said, sitting in a chair that was beyond big.

There were a few murmurs and nods from the other vampires.

"Excuse me. Not to be rude, but is this really necessary? I highly doubt we need such a big conference," One of the vampires stood up. He had dark green hair and wore glasses. He was also kinda short.

A few vampires murmured in agreement.

"Quiet!" The head vampire said. The guy who had called out sat down. "This is a very important subject. We need to advise everyone to be cautious. As you know, the humans had created a virus that goes by the name of Red Lung."

Murmurs and even a few shouts broke out of the crowd.

"Quiet!" The head vampire shouted. The vampires went silent, and the head vampire continued. "You all know it was established as extinct back in 2010." '2010? 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013...' I counted. 'That's 4 years ago! Why are there so many Rabids around?"

"However, the Rabids that were made with this virus stayed in the world," the head vampire said, as if reading my mind.

'Ok, that's enough for now, Amu. Let's go, before we get found out,' I told myself. I moved away from the door and ran into the shadows.

**TIME LEAP **

'How long have I been out here?' I wondered, looking up at the stars. I breathed out, clouds surrounding me. 'It's pretty cold...'

I climbed a tree and rested on a trunk. 'This should be an ok place to rest...I don't think the group wants to see me right now...' I thought. My eyes drooped and I let myself fall into slumber.

**DREAM**

This world is much too peaceful. Where is the rest of it?

"This IS all of the world."

That can't be.

"But it is."

You liar. The world is full of sadness, angst, hurt. This can't be it.

"Why don't you just believe it? Or...do you want the world to be that way?"

Before I could answer, the song stopped, the other voice disappeared, and the world turned black.

I started running after the voice that was slowly, ever so slowly disappearing.

"Hey wait! Don't leave me here! What's going on? Please, don't leave me alone! Don't leave me here in this world alone...just like...everybody else..." something hot ran down my cheek, making it sting sightly. "What?" I said, my voice cracking. I touched the warm liquid and looked at it.

To be met by blood.

**END OF DREAM **

My eyes flashed open, my breathing shaky and my heart beating rapidly. I had fallen to the ground, probably from all my moving around. I tried to sit up, but there was a heavy weight on top of me. 'What...?'

I only then realised I was staring into the eyes of a Rabid.

* * *

**Lilyflower991028: Wow! This chapter is so ****humongous!**

**Amu: Did ya like me acting?**

**Lilyflower991028: First, stop the accent, second, yeah, your acting was pretty good.**

**Amu: Teehee! Thanks! This chapter is really, really long...**

**Lilyflower991028: Yeah. So you guys probably don't want to hear me blabbering on about something. **

**Amu: Review!**

**Lilyflower991028: Oh, BTW I edited this chapter. I thought the way Amu's friends died were a bit...ugh. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed. Jya ne!**


	5. Chapter 5-Captured

**Lily: Hey guys! T-T**

**Amu: Your expression totally does not match how you're talking.**

**Lily: ^_^" **

**Amu: So, last chapter's cliffhanger was pretty intense.**

**Lily: Yep. Oh, this is the chapter Ikuto gets introduced!**

**Amu: Really?!**

**Ikuto: No.**

**Lily: Whoa he's alive! I mean...ahem. You're alive! Thank goodness!**

**Ikuto: *Glares***

**Amu: ^_^'' U-um enjoy!**

**Lily: Oh! Almost forgot. If you guys get confused, I am so so sorry! I changed the names. So, the vampire who turned Amu: Kanin. Amu's blood brother: Hisao. Last name? Who knows. And psycho vamp: Akira.**

**Hope I didn't confuse you too much, and you should read it over again cause obviously Amu's feelings have changed. Ikuto will be introduced later.**

**Ikuto: T-T I feel so loved.**

**Lily: Sorry, but at least this way the romance will be...better.**

**Ikuto: I hope it is.**

**Amu: Enjoy!**

* * *

It was only then that I realised I was staring into the eyes of a Rabid.

I couldn't unsheath Yorukozu, I was lying on my back.

The Rabid's fangs neared my neck, and I pushed it away from me with all my might.

Damn Rabids were strong.

It snarled at me, drool dripping on my face. It clawed at me, slashing through my coat and into my flesh.

I grimaced and kicked the Rabid, desperately trying to keep it's fangs away from me.

If it bit me, I wouldn't be human any more. And I wouldn't be a vampire, either.

**FLASHBACK **

"How did the virus spread so quickly?" I asked.

"Well, it spreads naturally, like a cold or something, but there's also another way it spreads. This one is a lot more...prominent," Nagi explained.

"Prominent?" I asked.

"It happens a lot more," Tadase said.

"So what happens a lot more?" I asked.

"The Rabids...they bite whoever they see. Vampire or human. Reminds you a lot like a vampire, doesn't it?" Kukai said. I nodded.

"Well, that's because of the genes the vampires gave the Rabids. You remember what I told you, right? About the scientists turning vampires into Rabids? That's how it spreads," Rima said.

"So does it have to bite you on the neck, or will you turn if it bites you either way?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's only the neck, but if you ever encounter one, you shouldn't take any chances. Keep their fangs away from you, no matter what," Tadase said grimly.

**END OF FLASHBACK **

I kicked the Rabid again. This time I was able to fling it away. But before I could stand and grab Yorukozu, the Rabid was already on top of me again. 'But that's impossible! Rabids aren't **this **quick!' I thought.

The Rabid slashed at me, clawing through my flesh and meat. It raised it's hand, ready to bring it down on me.

I rolled out of the way, but the Rabid was able to bring it's claws down into my arm, almost slicing it off.

I gasped in pain, squeezing my arm tight.

'Damn, just when I need my psycho self, she's not there!' I thought. I looked around.

"Just like I thought..." I whispered. There wasn't just one rabid.

There were tons.

**Utau POV **

'Kukai's...dead...huh?' I thought, clutching my knees closer to my chest.

Yaya knocked on my door again.

"Utau-chi..." she said softly through the door. I sighed.

It probably wasn't Amu's fault. If I knew her correctly, she probably wanted everybody to hate her so she wouldn't have any regrets when she tried to kill herself.

But then there was Kukai...I wasn't sure who I cared for more. Amu was my best, best friend. Well, even if she did have a bodyguard with her, also known as Rima... But then Kukai...he was...

I blushed a bit. He was someone special to me. But we weren't going out or anything, so I don't know if he had feelings for me or not...and I would never know...because he was...gone...

I heard Yaya walk away from the door.

A few minutes later, she screeched my name.

"UTAU-CHI!"

I jumped. Without knocking, she burst into my room.

"W-what's up?" I asked.

"Amu-chi's gone!" She shouted.

"What? That's impossible. Did you search everywhere?" I asked. Yaya nodded. I sighed. "Let's search again, just in case." Yaya didn't have a good reputation. A good reputation for searching people. She was impatient, so she didn't search everywhere.

'Gotta search her room first, obviously,' I thought. When I got in, her coat was gone. And so was Yorukozu.

**TIME LEAP **

I sighed, frustrated.

"We've searched everywhere," I said. Yaya leaned against the wall and sighed.

"See? Yaya told you she's gone," Yaya said. I rubbed my temples.

"This is troublesome. God, Amu..." I whispered.

"We have to go after her!" Yaya said.

"We don't even know where she is!" I said. "Plus, it's late, and dark out there. We can search for her tomorrow."

Yaya looked out the window and squeezed her stuffed duck.

**(A/N: Yaya always carries a stuffed duck around with her.) **

**Amu POV **

There was a flash as I lay, bloody and beaten, on the ground.

The Rabids screeched at whoever-or whatever-had come.

There were a few sounds of a sword meeting flesh, as I struggled to stay awake. But sleep pulled me under, making my eyes close.

**TIME LEAP **

"Wake up." The man said. Something cold landed on my shoulders, shaking me softly. I opened my eyes slowly and was met with dark, brown eyes. 'Such...pale skin...' I thought. 'It reminds me of...' My eyes widened.

"Kanin," I said, standing up and glaring at the vampire. He raised an eyebrow.

"Hi. Guess you still remember me, huh... Anyway, are you alright? You were wounded pretty badly," Kanin said. I suddenly remembered the Rabids, and pain shot through me. I grimaced and almost fell back down, but Kanin caught me. "Whoa, calm down."

"Don't touch me!" I managed to say.

I didn't bother trying to move away from him. I didn't care if Kanin drank my blood. I was going to die here, and that was that.

But for some reason, it pissed me off that I had to be killed by this monster.

"Kill me..." I managed to whisper. Kanin sighed and brushed some dark hair out of his face.

"You haven't changed at all... But I can promise you one thing: I can save you," he said.

"No you can't. You're a vampire. You can drink my blood if you want to."

"I **can **save you. If I give you my blood, I can turn you into a vampire. Then you will be immortal, and you can live."

"Turning into the one thing I hate the most? A disgusting bloodsucker? You must be kidding."

"But then you will live. You will be able to get out of this pain."

I gasped in pain as soon as he said that, clutching my chest.

This pain...it would be nice to end it...wouldn't it?

I forced my eyes open slowly and looked at the vampire who had killed my parents. My expression must have been...weird, because he answered me like this.

"I see. So this is your answer," he said, bringing my neck closer to his mouth. His fangs bared, and terror shot through me. But I pushed it down, and it was replaced with regret.

'I really am...a horrible person...' I thought, just before I drowned in the sea of sleep.

**TIME LEAP **

I groaned. I was hungry. Really hungry.

It felt like I hadn't eaten in days.

The pain was gone, at least.

I slowly opened my eyes, and spotted a bag.

'FOOD!' I thought. I scrambled over to it, ripping it open. Something oozed out, but I ignored it and ate the meal I was offered.

Once I was done, which was in a few moments, I licked my lips and wiped some of the stuff away from my face. When I looked at my hand, I was met with blood.

I almost screamed. What had I been eating?

"Nice appetite you got there," said a man. 'That voice-!' I thought, swivelling around.

"Kanin!" I exclaimed. 'The vampire who killed Mother and Father...' I thought.

"Hey there. Don't be surprised when you see that," he said, pointing at the bag. I looked back at it and realised it was covered with blood.

"What the heck did I eat?!" I asked, horrified. The man hesitated.

"Well, you **drank **blood," he said slowly. My eyes widened.

"B-b-b-b-blood?" I stuttered. He nodded. I stared at my hands in horror. "N-no way...why?"

"Last night I found you in the forest. You were being attacked by Rabids. I was able to make them go away, but you were beat up pretty badly. Well, you didn't get bitten, at least. I asked if you wanted to live. You didn't say anything, but the look you gave me told me yes. So I Sired you," he said.

"Sired?!" I shouted.

"But don't worry, I won't make you work for me or anything. You can leave or stay, your choice. But if you leave, I have to warn you, you probably won't last for long," he said.

I looked at the door and thought for a while. 'I guess I still have to learn how to survive...' I thought reluctantly.

"I'll...stay, I guess..." I said hesitantly.

"Well, we may as well start again. I'm Kanin. I don't have a last name," Kanin said, holding out his hand.

"Amu Hinamori," I said, taking his hand.

Cold.

It was cold.

I slipped my hand out of his and looked away.

It was so...cold...

I looked up at him.

'Now that I think about it, this place is different from when we came to get...Sired by Kanin,' I noticed, looking around.

"What's wrong?" Kanin asked.

"E-eh? Well...I was just wondering why we're in this shabby house, instead of that mansion before," I said.

I looked over at Kanin, and I could practically see the killing intent wavering off him.

"Here," he said, tossing me a coat. I caught it and stood up, putting it on. "Wait there." He walked into another room and came back in holding a pile of books. A really big pile of books.

He dropped them on a desk I hadn't noticed.

"To learn how to be a vampire, first, you have to study. Sit," he said, pointing to the seat in front of the desk.

'H-he's a sadist!' I thought, walking over and sitting in the chair.

"I'll leave you to work. I'll come back later and see how much you can recite," he said, turning to leave.

"Oh, wait!" I said. He turned back around. "What time is it?"

"It's about 2 am," he said, leaving the room.

'2 am? Then why isn't my internal clock telling me to sleep?' I wondered, opening the first book.

**Utau POV **

"Yaya, I'm telling you, she's not here!" I tried to persuade Yaya. She shook her head.

"She has to be here!" Yaya whined.

"Hoshina-san, she's not here either," a Fighter said, saluting me.

"I see...good work. Inform me if you find anything else," I said.

"Right!" He walked off.

"Utau-chi..." Yaya grabbed onto my sleeve. Tears were brimming her eyes. "She can't be gone...right? She can't have left like everybody else...right?" A tear slipped down her cheek.

"Yaya..." I felt tears coming myself. "It's going to be alright. Amu's going to be alright...I'm sure she's fine," I said, pulling Yaya in for a hug. She sobbed into my chest. "It's getting late...we should go back. Let's search again tomorrow, alright?" I asked, more tears falling down my cheek.

Yaya nodded, still sobbing.

I hope this ends soon.

**Kanin POV **

I exited the room and sat at my own desk, looking through documents.

Why was I saving another human? I don't even understand myself.

I was constantly feeling a pull, urging me towards him. But it wasn't like I was going to ever see him again. He was probably somewhere far off, leading a vampire city like the bossy guy he is.

I sighed. 'I'm wasting my time with this human...' I thought. She hated us. She hated herself. She hated vampires. It was pretty obvious, especially the way her eyes looked when she drank that blood, and when she knew I was a vampire.

I stood up and put the documents down, feeling that I wouldn't find what I was looking for. I walked into the other room to find the human asleep, her coat hanging on the chair.

I looked at my watch.

'5 am? It's getting dangerous. I guess I'll take her to the extra room,' I thought, picking her up with no problem at all. She was as light as a feather. Well, at least that's how she felt to me. But then again, everybody felt as light as a feather to me.

I walked into the extra room and placed her on the bed. It had no windows, no cracks, nothing leading outside. I had even checked.

Because if there was, I'd probably find a pile of ashes at night.

Dawn was coming and I couldn't stay out for long. My internal clock was already taking control, making my eyelids droop.

I closed the bedroom door and headed to my own bedroom, plopping down on the bed and letting my eyelids close.

**TIME LEAP**

**Amu POV **

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in...a bedroom? It didn't look much like a bedroom. The walls were metal-I think-and there were no windows.

There were footsteps outside, shuffling around in a sort of panicky manner. I got out of bed and opened the door to find Kanin standing there, his hand about to knock.

"Good morning," I said. He blinked at me a few times, then a look of realisation crossed his face.

"Night," he said. I tilted my head and gave him a questioning look. He beckoned me to follow him. He opened the door and I was hit by the cool night air.

"But...what?" I asked to no one in particular.

"It's your internal clock. Since you're a vampire, it tells you that day is time to sleep, and night is time to wake," Kanin explained.

"Oh yeah, I remember reading about that in the first book," I said.

"Here, put this on," he said, giving me a thick coat that was hanging on the rack.

"You sure I need this?" I asked, already feeling pretty warm.

"Yes. Even if it's not that cold, our bodies make ourselves feel colder, giving us minor protection from the sun," Kanin said matter-of-factly.

"Oh..." I said, putting the coat on. 'I guess there's still a lot of stuff I have to learn...' I thought.

"Don't forget this," Kanin said, passing me Yorukozu. I took it and nodded a thanks, smiling when I felt the familiar hilt of my katana.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked.

"Hunting."

**TIME LEAP **

Kanin and I blended into the shadows and listened to the conversation. I was still reluctant being around him, but what choice did I have?

"Those guys were so weak!" One of them laughed.

"I know, right? Wasn't hard to steal their stuff!" Another laughed. There were a group of dirty men sitting around a fire. At night. How stupid could people get?

"What are we doing?" I whispered to Kanin.

I didn't want to help him, or have him teach me, or have to live with the fact that he gave me his blood.

"Like I told you, hunting," he replied. I silently sighed.

'I'm surprised no Rabids are here, considering the noise they're making,' I thought.

"Oh, by the way there probably aren't any Rabids around because they don't like fire," Kanin whispered, as if reading my mind. "Oh, and while we're talking about it, stay away from fire. It's kind of like the sun, so it's dangerous."

"I have to go to the toilet," one of the drunk men said. "All this beer is making my bladder scream." He laughed and started towards the bushes. Which were right next to us.

He was definitely walking in our direction. If we didn't move, he would find us, and we were outnumbered.

I gave Kanin a quick, worried glance.

His eyes showed nothing, and neither did his face.

Why was he so good at hiding his emotions? Especially when someone wanted to know them?

The drunken man walked right passed us. He was barely a meter away from my face. His breath reeked of alcohol, and his clothes were dirty and ripped.

I held my breath, hoping he wouldn't hear my thumping heart.

Wait.

I quickly brought my hand up to my chest.

'No way...' I thought, my eyes wide. 'I knew vampires were dead but...is this what it means to be truly dead?'

There was no heartbeat in my chest. There was nothing cliché about the situation, like my heart was thumping against my chest or anything like that.

I was dead.

I noticed Kanin looking at me and gave him an reassuring look. He raised an eyebrow. I slightly shook my head to tell him I was alright.

Then I noticed that the drunken man hadn't seen us.

I looked away as he wizzed into the bush.

'Maybe he's too drunk to notice us?' I thought.

I gave a questioning look Kanin's way.

"I'll explain later," he mouthed. I nodded. "When the man finishes his business, jump out," Kanin whispered. I nodded again.

The sound of the liquid stopped. I heard a zipper being pulled up.

This is our cue.

Kanin jumped out of the shadows, my following after. Kanin pounced on the drunken man, fangs baring.

Before the drunk could scream, I unsheathed Yorukozu and almost sliced him in half.

Kanin shot me a glare.

"What?" I mouthed, returning the glare. Kanin ran up to me and pulled me back into the shadows. The drunken men still hadn't noticed us yet.

"Don't kill them. Watch me. When I give you a signal, come over, but do not kill them, no matter what," he said. I nodded glumly. This was gonna be no fun.

"Oi, Mida! What's taking you so long? You need to go to the doctors or something?" A man laughed, his friends joining in. Mida was probably that guy I almost freaking killed.

Kanin ran out of the shadows, while I crouched behind a wall.

He hissed at the men, grabbing only some of their attention. These guys were seriously drunk.

I only saw a streak of dark hair before all the men were unconscious, or too beaten up to move. Kanin beckoned me to come over.

"Seriously?" I asked, scoffing. "You signal to me after you finish fighting? That's not fair!"

"I can't have an amateur like you fighting so soon," Kanin said, a serious look on his face.

'T-this guy is way too serious...' I thought.

"I don't want you to die too soon," he added.

Suddenly, Tadase popped up into my mind.

'That's exactly something he would say...' I thought, smiling at the ground, while my eyes were full of sadness and hatred. Hatred towards myself. I let my friends die. And if that wasn't enough, I had became the one thing I hated the most.

"Is something the matter?" Kanin asked.

"It's nothing really..." I said. I looked over at the men. "What were we even doing?"

"I'm glad you remember," Kanin said. "I was going to teach you how to feed. But your body already knows how to do it. However, your mind is contradicting the fact you need to drink blood. So I thought I may as well." Kanin picked up one of the men, putting one hand behind the man's neck and one on the small of his back.

I stared at him. His fangs, the look in his eyes, it was all different to me.

But I didn't want to become a monster. Even if I already was one...

I thought about Tadase and everyone else and how they would feel if they saw me like this.

Kanin looked over at me in a strange way.

"Here," he said, pushing the human towards me.

"What? No! That's gross!" I said.

"Even if you have to do it to survive?" Kanin asked, raising an eyebrow but still giving me a serious look. He looked off into the distance, as if remembering something.

"I can't believe how alike you and Hisao are..." he said.

**FLASHBACK **

**Kanin POV **

"I'm not doing this! I may be a monster, but I'm not going to be like the rest! I won't kill people for food. I won't choose to kill innocent people. I'll only feed when I need to," Hisao said, glaring at me.

"You have to. You'll understand if you try," I said, shoving the human into his arms. He caught it and stared at it intently.

"I can't..."

"You have to."

"No!"

"Just do it," I said, starting to get annoyed but not showing it.

"Just like I thought, you vampires are monsters. And so am I," Hisao said, a look so full of pain it actually made me feel sorrowful.

I can't stand humans and their emotions...

Surprisingly, Hisao's fangs came out of his gums. He hesitantly got closer to the human's neck, a slight look of regret on his face.

His fangs pierced the human, making it wake and gasp. Then it melted into his arms, the colour draining from it's eyes.

"Ok, I think that should be enough," I said after a bit. Hisao pulled away, leaving his fangs there for a second, then lightly putting the human on the floor.

He wiped his mouth.

"I can't believe you made me do this to a woman..." he said, glancing over at the human.

"You had to learn sooner or later," I said.

For a moment, Hisao looked at me with eyes so regretful and sad it almost made me think he was a nice guy, considering the way he looked.**  
**

"I'm going," he said. 'Do I always do this?' I asked myself. I wouldn't know, I didn't really talk to other people. And Hisao was pretty much my first pupil. Or the first human I ever Sired.

I sighed. What kind of a person was I to Sire a human and then say they could leave, or they didn't have to work for me?

But then again, I'm not a human. I'm a monster.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

**Amu POV **

'Hisao...?' I thought.

"Anyways, just go ahead. It's not that bad," he said. I looked at the human. I never realised it before, but his heartbeat was pretty loud, considering he had just been beat up.

I could not only hear his heart beat, but feel the blood pumping through his body; his veins.

My eyes turned a slight red. My fangs came out themselves.

'No...!' My rational mind said.

'What's the point? We're already monsters, so we may as well,' my irrational mind said.

I brought my head down to the man's neck and breathed in the scent of blood. If I didn't breath in, I couldn't actually smell anything...well, I guess that's cause I don't need to breath.

My fangs slightly pierced the flesh of the man's neck, blood already coming out. I brought the full length of my fangs down, a gasp exiting the human's mouth. He suddenly lost all muscle power and melted into my arms.

I let the warm liquid spread through my mouth, a weird sensation filling me. I gulped it down, listening to his heartbeat dim.

"Stop. That's enough," Kanin said, taking the human away from my arms and placing him on the floor. I slightly snarled at him when he took the human away, but, realising what I had done, I wiped my mouth.

"I didn't kill him, did I?" I asked, looking up at the sky.

"No, don't worry. You stopped in time. Since you're a learner, you probably don't have enough will power to stop yourself."

"I don't know how you vampires live with this."

"...we don't."

"Is this all we have to do? I want to go back now," I said. Kanin nodded.

"I just had to have you learn that. The most important thing about being a vampire," he said.

"What? Drinking blood? Controlling yourself?"

"No. The most important thing is to learn to accept you are a monster."

My eyes widened. I looked away so he wouldn't see my expression.

A monster...

**TIME LEAP **

I slammed my bedroom door closed and shoved in my earphones.

I guess listening to music would help me. I softly sang along.

"You were my conscience,

So solid now you're like water,

And we started drowning,

Not like we'd sink any farther

But I let my heart go,

It's somewhere down at the bottom

But I'll get a new one, and come back for the hope that you've stolen..."

I literally did let my heart go, didn't I? Turning into something like this, with no heartbeat.

"I'll stop the whole world,

I'll stop the whole world

From turning into a monster,

And eating us alive

Don't you ever wonder, how we survived?

Well now you're gone, the world is ours."

I laughed at how well this song described me. Back when I was still human, I was always sure that someday, I would stop the world from becoming a monster. In other words, I'd stop the vampire's reign.

"I'm only human,

I've got a skeleton in me

But I'm not the villain,

Despite what you're always preaching

Call me a traitor

I'm just collecting your victims

They're getting stronger,

I hear them calling..."

'I'm only human? I've got a skeleton in me? I guess I did have a skeleton, but that didn't actually mean I was...human...'

'This verse isn't really true...I am a villain. I am a traitor.'

"I'll stop the whole world,

I'll stop the whole world

From turning into monster

And eating us alive,

Don't you ever wonder, how we survived?

Well now that you're gone, the world is ours."

"That's a nice voice you got there," someone said through the door.

"Who's there?!" I shouted.

The man laughed. This definitely wasn't Kanin's voice.

"Is that really how to you talk to your family? Sister?" He asked, menace in his voice. My eyes widened.

"What are you talking about? I don't have a brother," I said, jumping off my bed and grabbing Yorukozu.

"How cold!" He said. "Anyways, would you mind opening the door for your brother? It seems it's locked."

I unsheathed Yorukozu and slowly walked over to the door.

Opening it, I got ready for anything. As soon as he saw me with a sword, he put his hands up.

"Whoa, tiger. I'm just here to visit," he said. I eyed him suspiciously. "Can you get Kanin for me?"

"Then let me get out," I said harshly. He moved out the way. I walked out, still facing him with Yorukozu.

"Where's Kanin?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"You didn't know all this time?!"

"So what? I haven't been here long."

"Yeah, yeah, I know your story. The poor girl who was abandoned by her friends, left to be killed by Rabids. You wanted to die, when Kanin came along and gave you a chance to live. Being the horrible person you are, you accepted. I seriously don't get Kanin's soft side...' he muttered the last part.

I glared at him with suspicion.

"Sort of...but you have some of the events mixed up. I wasn't abandoned by my friends. I abandoned them." When I said this, I saw the man's eyes slightly widen. "Also, I'm not horrible. I'm a monster."

I sighed and walked out to Kanin's office. Not here. I spotted a pile of documents. My curiosity got the better of me, and I slowly edged towards the documents. Forgetting totally about the uninvited guest, I reached my hand out.

'What Kanin doesn't know wouldn't hurt him...' I thought.

"What are you guys doing?" I jumped at the voice. I turned around slowly.

"K-Kanin...hi..." I said.

"Why are you here?" Kanin asked, ignoring me and turning to the other man. "I thought I told you never to come back. Hisao." He added, with a slight hint of venom in his voice.

"Hisao?!" I exclaimed. But once again, I was ignored!

"Is that really how you treat your superior?" Hisao asked.

"Superior?" Kanin asked.

"Yes. I'm a high ranking vampire in a vampire city, while you're here Turning another human. Kanin, you can't keep doing this. Akira's going to find you soon. You can't avoid him," Hisao said.

"Akira's alive?" Kanin asked.

**Kanin POV **

"Akira's alive?" I asked.

'I thought I killed him...' I thought. But with Hinamori here, I was reluctant to say it.

"I thought he died," I said.

"Well, you thought wrong," Hisao said.

Damn it.

The psycho vamp was alive.

**Amu POV**

'Akira? He was supposed to be dead?' I thought. Why was I always the only one who never knew anything?

"What's with that look on your face? Afraid psycho vamp is going to come and get you?" Hisao laughed.

"Isn't it the same with you? Aren't you afraid of him?" Kanin asked.

"Maybe. But there's nothing to be afraid of anymore," Hisao said, smirking.

"What do you mean?" Kanin asked. Hisao's grin widened.

"What do I mean? Kanin, my friend, I thought you were smarter than that," Hisao paused for a moment. "I'm working for Akira."

Kanin's eyes widened.

"You traitor," Kanin said, hate seething through his words.

"Traitor?" Hisao pouted. "How am I a traitor? You let me choose my own path. So I did."

"Not ruling a vampire city? Not the leader of a gang?" Kanin asked. Hisao shook his head. "Anyway, what makes you think I'll just go to that psycho vamp and talk to him like we're friends?"

Hisao raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Tsk tsk tsk. We could've done this without any problems, but it seems I have to force you to come. If you don't, something will happen to her," Hisao said, grabbing my waist.

Kanin's face went even paler than it already was. He shouted my name, making me freeze. He never usually raised his voice, and when he did it sent chills down my spine.

My mind went blank.

Things blurred passed me.

"W-what's happening?!" I shouted over the rush of the wind. I looked up and saw Hisao holding me over his shoulder.

He noticed me looking around frantically, then smirked.

"Stop moving around. Or would you rather die by my hands, other than Akira's?" Hisao asked, baring his fangs.

I stayed silent and stopped moving around. Hisao, satisfied, turned back to look where he was going.

**Kanin POV **

"Damn that Hisao," I said through gritted teeth, frustrated. If I knew Akira correctly, he would probably throw Hinamori into a cage with a Rabid. Or put her into a dungeon and torture her.

I shuddered at the thought.

Running at high speed, things rushed passed me.

I could see Hisao holding Hinamori only a little bit in front of me, almost taunting me how easy it was supposed to be to catch her.

I knew Hisao was just doing this to lure me into Akira's grasp, but I felt the need to get her back. She was like a family to me, just like how Hisao was family to her. We shared the same blood; I felt the need to save her. Plus, she still had lots to learn.

Just at the sound of Akira, my other self screamed. In other words, my instincts. They were telling me to run far away from the man that had tortured me.

'It's just a human! Turn back, NOW!' My other self screamed.

I gritted my teeth and ignored my instincts.

I wouldn't let Akira take this away from me. He had taken most from me: my title, my ranking, my servants, my whole city. He had practically taken my whole life away from me. I wouldn't allow him to take anything else.

**FLASHBACK **

I opened my eyes. Akira's maniacal smile greeted me.

"Well good morning, my friend," he said. "Today, what would you like me to do? Lava, maybe? Or how about letting you bask in the glory of the sun? Or maybe this scalpel is a better option?" Akira grinned and picked up the scalpel on the table of torture machines and slid his tongue across it.

I stayed silent. Or more like, I couldn't talk.

My hands and feet were tied to a wooden cross, my body dangling weakly. Akira raised his eyebrow at me, then pouted. "Giving me the silent treatment again? Kanin, I thought we were friends!" He whined.

I managed to glare at him, making him smirk.

"Guess you have some fight left in you after all," Akira said. "That won't last for long, though." Akira's grin widened like a Cheshire cat.

He put down the scalpel and picked up a knife.

"I can't use a scalpel to cut open your guts," Akira said. He taunted me by walking slowly towards me, the tip of the knife pointed at me.

I looked away as Akira touched the tip of my gut with the knife, just making it bleed.

"Too bad I can't kill you yet. But your screams are the most beautiful song I have ever heard," Akira said, laughing.

He brought the knife down, slicing my gut in a red line. I threw back my head, letting a small grunt come out. I wasn't about to let him enjoy himself by hearing my screams.

"Now this isn't any fun, Kanin! Let's do something that'll be fun for both me and you!" Akira giggled. He put down the knife, now coated with blood, and picked up a wooden stake.

My eyes widened at the menacing thing. Akira noticed my gesture and smirked.

Vampires had a very cliché image, to humans at least. They drank blood, had fangs, and were monsters. That much was true. But over time, the idiotic humans created myths about how we could be killed. Some of them were stupid, such as vampires dying from garlic. Some of them, coincidentally, were actually true. Such as vampires burning in the sun. Or vampires dying from a stake in the heart.

However, some of the facts were wrong. If we were in the sun, our skin would slowly blacken, until we burst into flames. Also, with stakes, it wouldn't exactly kill us. It would be painful, though, so painful that our body would drag us down into hibernation.

Akira's Cheshire smile couldn't be wiped off his face.

He mercilessly brought the stake down into my chest. I threw my head back again, although this time I let out a painful scream.

Akira laughed happily.

"Finally! Finally, you aren't holding back! Don't worry, you can let out your screams. Don't hold back!" He laughed.

I screamed and screamed, until my voice went hoarse and my body pulled me into hibernation.

"I have something planned for you when you wake up, so don't worry," Akira said, his voice following me down into the darkness.

**Amu POV **

The gates closed behind us. There was no way Kanin could get through those guarded doors. But then again, I was just an insignificant vampire, who really actually had no importance to Kanin. There was no certainty Kanin would even try to save me.

Guards surrounded us.

"Welcome back, Hisao-sama!" They said in unison. He put me down, my feet touching the floor.

"Yeah," he said. He looked at me. "Take this girl to Akira-sama, please."

I looked up at him. He looked back. One of his fangs were poking out of his mouth, the others hidden inside. He was smirking at me, a mad glint in his eyes.

"I wish I was able to swap places with Akira..." he said. I furrowed my brows.

"I wish I was able to swap places with Akira so I could be the one to...torture you," he finished.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you really kill people, or torture people, with no feelings at all?" I asked, baring my fangs. Hisao's smirk only grew.

"Yep," he replied.

The guards took my arms and dragged me to wherever this psycho vamp Akira was.

I hoped this wasn't the end for me.

* * *

**Lily: Hey guys! This chapter took me a long time to write. That's because school work piled up and I could only get about 20 minutes into the story each day. So, sorry if I made you guys wait.**

**Amu: The end...of ore...**

**Lily: -.- ...please don't do that...**

**Amu: *pouts***

**Lily: Anyways, I'm super happy! :D Because crunchyroll, the anime site, created an app for the phone! So now I can watch anime without any problems! X3 So happy! Please don't review saying SPAM SPAM SPAM! Ne~?**

**Amu: ^_^'' G-good for you! Review guys!**

**Lily: The song Amu sang is called Monster, by Paramore. Don't you think it suits her so well? Jya ne!**


	6. Chapter 6-Lies

**Lily: Hey guys! School is hell.**

**Amu: How so?**

**Lily: You can decide what that means for yourself.**

**Amu: That's not fair!**

**Lily: Well, it means you can imagine whatever you want it to be. It's better that way, right?**

**Amu: Well...**

**Lily: Anyway, just like chapter 5, some things have changed.**

**Amu: Enjoy!**

* * *

The guards threw me into the room.

"Oh, you brought her! How nice of you. You two can go now," the man who I think was Akira, said. He was sitting at a desk with documents here and there, his chair bright red.

His face was covered with scars, going from his forehead to his chin. His smile sent chills through me.

"Yes sir!" The men saluted. They went out of the room, leaving me and the psycho vamp alone together.

"So, I think you already know who I am, supposing that Hisao has found you so quickly," Akira said, smiling in a sinister way.

"Yes, Akira, am I right?" I asked calmly. Akira giggled, intertwining his fingers together and resting his chin upon them.

"Yes. And you are Amu, right?" he asked. I nodded.

"So, what do you want from me?" I asked, getting ready to unsheathe Yorukozu at any moment.

However, Akira seemed to notice this and pressed a button on the side of his desk. The two guards from before came running in.

"How may we help you, Akira-sama?" They asked.

"Please get rid of this girl's sword. Put it in...let's see...chamber number 23, where we keep the rest of them," Akira said.

"Yes sir!" The men walked up to me.

"Hey!" I said, moving back.

"Amu-tan, I don't think you should defy me," Akira said.

'Tan?!' I thought.

The men brought out 2 guns and pointed them at me. I laughed nervously and gave them Yorukozu.

They took it and walked out the room.

"Well, now that we have that out of the way, go ahead and sit down," Akira said, gesturing to the chairs in front of the desk.

"Why should I?" I asked.

Akira pouted.

'Man, this guy is weird...' I thought.

"Don't be like that, Amu-tan! Sit down,"

I reluctantly walked over and sat down.

"So, what did you want with me?" I asked.

"Now now, let's not rush things," Akira said. "I just wanted to talk!"

"Talk about what?"

"About anything. How was your day?"

'Is this guy serious?' I wondered.

"It was fine. Considering the fact I got Turned and kidnapped."

Akira laughed at this.

"You're an amusing girl, Amu-tan,"

"I'll take that as a compliment. Anyway, how was your day?" I asked, playing along with his game.

"It was actually pretty fun! Today I got to torture some more humans!" He sounded like a kid that just went to Lunar Park, considering he had just talked about torturing people. "And you would never guess who they were!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Who were they?"

"Their names were Rima, Nagi, and Kukai!"

I was surprised, but I wasn't about to let him see that.

Was what Tadase was saying all a lie? He had told me that the others didn't make it. I had guessed that meant they were dead.

Were they really alive? Or were they dead?

Did Tadase mean they were alive, but were caught? Or did he mean they were dead?

"Are they dead?"

"Well...I'm not sure. They are asleep, but I didn't bother to check if they were still alive."

I clenched my fist under the desk so he didn't see.

"Would you mind if I saw these humans?" I smiled.

Akira's smile vanished and he shot me a glare.

"You're going to take away my throne, aren't you?"

"Pardon?"

"You're going to try to take my throne away, just like everybody else!" His voice was slowly getting louder.

"Calm down, Akira, I'm not going to do that. I just wanted to see the humans,"

"LIAR!" He swung his hand, the back of it hitting the side of my forehead. I fell off the chair, landing on my bottom.

The door burst open and a few guards ran in.

"Akira-sama, calm down!" Two of them shouted. One of them stood there shouting orders.

"Take him to room 3B! Make sure you don't encounter anyone. Take elevator 12; nobody takes that one," the man shouted.

The other men nodded and ran out the room, holding a struggling Akira.

Once they left, the man still in the room sighed.

"Are you alright, miss?" He asked, holding out his hand. I took it and he pulled me up. "Sorry about that. He...gets like that sometimes."

He had dark, chocolaty hair with eyes the same colour. Those eyes told me had been through his fair share of hardships. He didn't look that much older than me; he was a little bit taller than me. He had a gun which I hadn't noticed in his hands.

"No, it's alright," I said, brushing the dust off my clothes.

"Are you alright?" He repeated.

"Yeah, I think so..."

"Here, let me see where he hit you."

"My forehead." He brushed away my hair and inspected the corner of my forehead. "How did you know I got hit?"

"This happens quite a lot."

"Really?" I asked a bit too surprised.

"He's been like this since he was young."

"You know?"

"I was a childhood friend."

"I see. What's your name?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Don't be like that; a name is important. Tell me,"

"I've forgotten it."

"I don't even know if you're lying or not,"

"Ok, I don't have a name. How's that?"

I laughed.

"Is that really true? Just please, tell me your name," I said.

"Fine. It's Nanashi."

"Nanashi? That's a nice name."

"Nanashi means no name. Anyway, you don't seem to have any injuries, but Akira-sama can really pack a blow. Come with me. I'll take you to the hospital."

'No name?'

We exited the room and made our way to the hospital.

'This place is pretty big,' I noticed.

We passed a countless number of doors; turning around a countless number of corners.

When we finally reached the hospital, I was dismayed to find out we had to walk even more to get to a free room.

**TIME LEAP **

"You should be fine," the nurse said.

"Thank you," I replied, smiling. I still couldn't get over the fit that Akira had. What the heck was his problem?

Nanashi walked in.

"How are you?" He asked.

"I'll be fine. I don't know why everyone's making such a big deal out of it; it was nothing," I said, touching my forehead with the tip of my fingers.

Nanashi avoided my gaze for a moment, then looked back.

"Akira is resting right now, so you can't see him. What business did you have here?" Nanashi asked.

How the heck was I supposed to answer that? I was kidnapped by Hisao, one of Akira's men, and was here to get tortured?!

"Uh...I'm an acquaintance of Akira's," I replied.

"I see. What's your name?" Nanashi asked.

"A-" 'I can't tell him my real name!' I thought. "Ayase Izumi," I said. It was the first name that popped into my head; what could I do?

"Ayase? I don't know any of Akira's acquaintances who have that name," Nanashi said.

I froze up.

'Crap!' I thought.

"But then again, I don't know any of Akira's acquaintances," Nanashi added. I let out a sigh of relief. "Are you alright? Tired?"

"Eh? Oh, no, not really. It's just...I've never seen Akira like that," I lied.

"Yeah, he doesn't usually lose his cool. He's been on edge...ever since that guy Hisao came. I think it's because the guy's new, you know?"

I nodded. I could understand; I was a bit uptight when I first met Hisao. Especially because of his personality. I mean, what was with the guy?

"Is he alright?" I asked. The way Nanashi interprets the question is up to him. I didn't even know if I was asking if Akira was alright in the head, or if he was alright after his little fit.

"He should be alright after he rests."

"I see. Um...not to be rude or anything, but what should I do?"

I could tell Nanashi was taken aback by my question.

"Well, the building is quite large. We have many things here-cafes, lounges, libraries, everything that would be in a normal town or city packed into one building. I have a map of the place. Would you like to look around?"

"Yes please!" I beamed like a child.

Nanashi took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. I took it hesitantly.

"You sure this is alright?" I asked.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly fine. If you run into anyone-Fighters, nurses, anyone-who wants to know what you're doing, just tell them about me. Ok?" Nanashi said.

"Kay! Thanks!"

I gave him a smile and ran out, already looking at the map.

'Where should I go first?' I wondered, laughing happily.

**Kanin POV**

"This is a problem," I said through gritted teeth, trying to stay calm.

I sat down at my desk, not caring if important documents fell off the table and drifted to the floor.

I rubbed my temples with one hand and closed my eyes, trying to assess the situation.

'Why the heck was Hisao working for Akira? I can never understand that guy. And how am I supposed to get Hinamori back? Is Akira already torturing her?' I wondered.

I sighed in frustration.

"What do I do now?' I wondered.

Why did I care so much for this girl? It wasn't like she had any use to me. She was just a human I had Turned-I even told her she could choose her own path. I didn't need to care for her.

I stood up and neatly put the documents that had fallen in a neat pile.

'I may as well drown myself in this...I still haven't found the answer. And I have to find it quickly-before Akira gets to it.'

**Utau POV **

"Yaya, have you found anything yet?" I shouted.

"Utau-chi, you better come over here," she replied.

"Kay!"

I walked over to where she was looking for clues to finding Amu.

"What's up?" I asked, moving a branch out of the way.

When I spotted Yaya, I froze in my tracks.

The air stunk of something rotten and disgusting.

'I...recognise this smell...' I thought. I looked at the ground, proving my intuition correct.

Yaya stood by the Rabid corpses, horror in her eyes. She covered her mouth with two hands, probably to stop herself from screaming and from vomiting.

I walked towards Yaya, tearing my stare away from the corpses.

"What happened here?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Yaya doesn't know, but she thinks Amu was here, fighting the Rabids," Yaya said, burying her face into her yellow duck.

I forced myself to look at the Rabid corpses.

I needed to find clues.

**Akira POV **

"Don't you think this is fun? Old friend?" I asked, swiping my hand up and down as if I was holding something in it.

I laughed hysterically, still swiping the imaginary knife at nothing.

"He's coming. I can feel it...he's coming! He's really coming! That's when the fun will really begin!" I laughed again.

**Nanashi POV **

I walked up to the door, where two men guarded it.

"Is he alright?" I asked.

The men saluted me when they saw me.

"He isn't accusing people anymore. I think he's fine," one of them said.

"Thank you. I'll be seeing him now," I said.

The two men nodded as I walked passed them and opened the door.

Akira-sama was in hysterics, waving his arm around.

When I walked in, he looked up and smiled like a Cheshire cat.

The room was surrounded by brick walls, a bed in front of the door.

"Hello, Akira. How are you?" I asked cautiously, as if I was talking to a stray cat. A stray Cheshire cat.

He laughed.

"Ne, ne, did you know? They're here! They're finally here!" Akira-sama laughed and dropped onto the bed, still pretending to hold something in his hand as he waved it around.

"Who's here?" I asked.

Akira-sama's arm dropped onto the bed. He sat up, staring into my eyes with such a sinister look, it would send shivers down the most courageous man.

"You didn't know?" He asked. I shook my head. His smile reappeared. "My old friend, and his cute little family have finally come."

**Amu POV **

"Thank you," I smiled as the waiter put the coffee down. As he was about to leave, I stopped him. "Excuse me..."

"Yes? Is something the matter?" He asked.

"Um...well...are all the workers here human?" I asked. Whenever I walked into a shop or some place, I could tell they were humans.

Maybe it was because of the smell of their blood, maybe it was their loud hearts booming in their chests. Whatever the reason, the Hunger stirred restlessly.

"Well...some of the Fighters are vampires, but I'm pretty sure all workers in shops and things are humans," the waiter replied. "Answer your question?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, smiling. The waiter smiled back and left.

I sipped my cup of coffee as humans and vampires walked passed me.

Now to get all these thoughts through my head.

First thing's first: I had just been kidnapped by my 'blood brother', Hisao. And Kanin, Hisao and I were practically a 'family'.

Nothing's happened to me yet, but I have no idea what will happen. By saying, "may I please see these humans," I probably saved myself from torture or something.

Akira seriously creeped me out. I mean, who wouldn't be creeped out by him? He's a sociopath who loves torturing people. I'm surprised those Fighters who ran in actually had the guts to go near him.

What was going to happen to me now? And what happened to Kanin? Is he alright? Did he try to save me? Or maybe he couldn't and was captured? Or maybe he...just didn't care and...decided not to bother...

"Argh!" I shouted, shaking my head as others stared at me.

I finished off my coffee and decided to look for Nanashi. I didn't know what time it was, but I was definitely getting tired.

It wouldn't be long until I dropped dead onto the floor-literally.

**Nanashi POV **

"Your old friend?" I asked. Akira was slowly coming back to his own self, and wasn't as stiff when answering questions. I knew it was alright for me to ask this. Or at least I hoped it was.

"Yes, you remember the man, dark hair, dark eyes, " Akira said.

"Yes, I do remember the strange blue hair," I said.

Akira licked his lips and giggled.

"He has the answer, and I'm not about to lose it. Where's that pink-haired girl? I need to...speak with her," he said, a glint in his eyes.

He stood up and I moved a few steps back. He slid his fingers across the brick wall, a grey sheet of dust on the tips of his fingers.

"Shall I go look for her?" I asked, slowly and steadily moving backwards.

"Yes, that would be appreciated," Akira smiled.

I nodded and walked out, dust surrounding my shoes.

There was so much dust because we hadn't used the room in quite a while.

It must have been that Kanin man.

**Amu POV **

"Argh, I can't find him anywhere!" I exclaimed, taking out the map and looking at it again. I was certain that the map had cut off some of the building, as it had looked so much bigger from the outside.

Diverting all my attention to the map, I forgot to look where I was going.

I tripped on my own feet, and face-planted on the floor.

"Ow..." I said, sitting up and rubbing my head.

"Are you all right, miss?" Someone asked.

'Eh...?'

"Um, yes, I'm fine, thank you," I said. I stood up and slowly turning around, anticipating what-or who-was standing behind me.

"Would you like me to take you to the hospital?" Kanin asked. I smirked and brushed my coat off.

He was wearing the exact same clothes as the other waiters. Wonder how he got that.

"I think I'm fine, but thank you for the offer," I said.

"I still think you should go just in case," Kanin said. "Follow me."

"Oh, thank you," I said, crossing my arms and following closely behind him. "How did you get in here?" I whispered.

"Pardon? I don't understand what you are talking about, miss," Kanin said. My smirk grew even more.

"This service is horrible! This waiter is trying to harass me!" I exclaimed, raising my voice.

Kanin turned around and glared at me. Some people stopped and looked at us, but other than that, they just walked by.

I need to spice things up a bit.

I grabbed Kanin's hand and wrapped it around my wrist.

"Stop! What are you doing?!" I asked, clamping my hand on his for two reasons: so it would look like I was trying to get his hand off, and also so HE couldn't get his hand off.

I was barely holding back giggles, making my expression weird.

Now a lot of people were staring, and some were even walking towards us.

"Excuse me," a familiar voice said. I turned my head and looked into the eyes of Nanashi.

"Nanashi!" I exclaimed. He smiled my way, then glared back at Kanin

"Sir, I think you should back off," Nanashi said, placing his hand on Kanin's.

I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.

Kanin took his hand off mine and shot a glare at me that went unnoticed by everyone but me.

Nanashi beckoned some Fighters I hadn't noticed over. They grabbed Kanin's arms.

"Sir, come with us," they said, taking him in another direction.

Suddenly, I started to wonder if what I had just done was a big mistake.

Maybe they were going to torture him? Hisao did say that Akira wants to talk to him... Or maybe he's going to be put into a cell for harassing me?

I'm so stupid!

"Are you alright, Ayase?" Nanashi asked, turning to face me after the Fighters and Kanin had disappeared down an elevator.

"Eh? Aya-I mean, yeah, I'm alright..." I said. 'That's right...I told him my name was Ayase...'

"That was quite a scene you made there," Nanashi said, chuckling. I blushed.

"W-well, it wasn't like anyone would notice me if I didn't!" I argued.

"I guess," Nanashi said, still smiling.

"Anyway, thanks, I guess."

"Don't worry about it. I needed to find you anyway."

"Really? Why?"

"Akira is back to himself. I think. And he wants to talk to you."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Did he say why he wanted to talk to me?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so," Nanashi replied.

"I see..."

"Shall we go now?"

"S-sure."

We started heading towards my death-I mean Akira

**Nanashi POV **

I knew who he was straight away. Or at least I thought it was him.

He fit Akira-sama's description perfectly. Dark hair, dark eyes. But plenty of people had the same appearance.

I noticed a pink head and realised the girl causing the fuss was Ayase.

I walked up to them and interjected, getting my men to take the waiter to court.

He can't of been Kanin. There's just no way.

It can't have been him.

**TIME LEAP**

**Amu POV **

I shifted uncomfortably under Akira's gaze. Even though he was smiling, I could sense the killing intent behind it.

"S-so, was there something you wanted with me?" I asked. Akira's smile grew wider.

"Do you know a man going by the name Kanin?" He asked.

'Kanin...?'

"I'm sorry, I don't know who he is. Is he an acquaintance of yours?" I asked.

Akira giggled.

"You know who I'm talking about. Dark hair and dark eyes," he said.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know anyone going by that description. Quite a lot of people have dark hair and dark eyes, so I'm not sure," I said.

"Well, do you know the man who harassed you?"

"Eh? Well...no, I didn't know who he was."

"What colour hair did he have?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure he had dark hair..."

Akira's smile turned into one of triumph.

"Hm...come with me," said Akira, standing up. A sinister smile was stuck on his face, and I was pretty sure it wouldn't come off no matter what.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To see the humans," he replied.

* * *

**Lily: H-h-h-h-h-hey...g-g-g-g-guys...**

**Amu: What's wrong?**

**Lily: I'm watching a horror movie called 28 weeks later. Lol, name of my new fanfic. It's a really depressing and scary movie. So many deaths...so many depressing scenes...**

**Amu: Horror movie, huh...**

**Lily: It's really creepy! Oh god I'm never going to sleep tonight. But actually, that was my plan. I wanted to stay up really late and watch anime, so yay! But the bad thing is that I might get nightmares or something.**

**Amu: You don't really get nightmares anymore, even if you watch a horror.**

**Lily: I guess. It's probably thanks to the anime.**

**Amu: Yeah, anime is awesome.**

**Lily: Agreed! Review!**


	7. Chapter 0-Authors Note

**Lily: Hey guys! I wanted to talk to you about this story! I decided to upload it as a chapter, hope you get to read this!**

**Amu: So what's up?**

**Lily: Well, when I made Ikuto the person who Turned Amu, I realised I shouldn't have! T-T**

**Amu: What do you mean by that?**

**Lily: The person who Turned the other and the one who was turned, they basically have a parent-child relationship...**

**Amu: ERGH! So if it was a romance between me and Ikuto, it'd be... *shudder* father and daughter?**

**Lily: ...basically...*shudders as well***

**Amu: So what are you going to do?**

**Lily: I may as well change it. I forgot what chapter Ikuto was introduced...but now, Ikuto will probably be introduced in chapter 8 or 9. ^_^;**

**Amu: Wow...and he was supposed to be a main character!**

**Lily: Yeah, I know... Well, sorry if you guys will have to read everything again...**

**Amu: I don't think there's that much to change, since Ikuto got introduced in chapter 5 or something.**

**Lily: I guess, but that still means I have to change the events or how you feel during the events. Because...I was kinda thinking of making (SPOILER ALERT!) Kanin the vampire who Turns you.**

**Amu: HUH?!**

**Lily: Heh...sorry, I know you hate him...**

**Amu: *growls* Anyway, you should probably get on with those changes.**

**Lily: Yep! See you guys next chapter!**

**Amu: Bye bye!**


	8. Chapter 7-Dead or Alive?

**Lily: Hey guys! Has it been a while? I don't think so. Anyway, AMU IS GOING TO SEE EX-FRIENDS WHO HAVE BEEN TORTURED BY THE HOT- I MEAN CREEPY AKIRA!**

**Amu: Kay...over reaction...also, Akira is hot? WHAT?**

**Lily: I never said that!**

**Amu: Right...**

**Lily: He just...reminds me of Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter...and Hisoka was pretty cool! (hot?)**

**Amu: You have a seriously weird fetish.**

**Lily: Hey! But I must say, Killua and Gon are pretty cute. ;)**

**Amu: I guess...but I mean, sure they are, but I'm a teenager and you're an 11 year old. I probably think differently to you.**

**Lily: Yeah, you're right. Also, why the heck did you tell them my age?!**

**Amu: ;9**

**Lily: -_- Anyway, I don't even know the plot of the story anymore... T-T**

**Amu: ^_^; Enjoy!**

**Ikuto: It's been a while since I've been in the intro...I think...**

**Amu: Enjoy!  
**

**Ikuto: Hey! You ignoring me?!**

* * *

"Hm...come with me," Akira said, standing up. A sinister smile was stuck on his face, and I was pretty sure it wouldn't come off no matter what.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To see the humans," Akira replied.

I tried to hide my astonishment. Why was he taking me to them now? And how was he not getting into a fit? I don't get this guy...

"Well then, let's go," Akira said, his smile growing. This made his scar on the side of his face shift a bit, making him seem creepier. I mentally shuddered and followed Akira out of the room, wondering why he was doing this.

A few Fighters outside saluted to him.

'I can't believe they accept him as a leader...' I thought, glancing at Akira. He noticed it, which I wonder how, and smiled at me.

I smiled back awkwardly, then looked away.

'Awkward...' I thought.

I glanced at Akira again, but he didn't look at me this time, which allowed me to inspect him a little bit. I only just realised that his scar was cut quite deep into his face.

'It was probably inflicted on him not that long ago...' I thought, not able to imagine a sight as horrible as that. Or more like, not wanting to imagine a sight as horrible as that.

Akira's silver hair was actually pretty long, I noticed. It stopped right below the small of his back in spikes. He had a fringe which also ended in long spikes, some which covered his eyes. It flowed when he walked, and he almost seemed mysterious. His skin was as white as paper, but then again, so was mine. So was every vampire's.

His eyes...were filled with nothingness. They were dark, black orbs that held no emotion. He was a monster of all monsters... the evil of all evil.

He had no heart, just like a vampire shouldn't, but I could tell he never felt any emotion. Unless you counted when he tortured people; when he was happy or...joyous.

"We're here," Akira said. He stopped abruptly, almost making me crash into him. Luckily, I didn't.

We had stopped at a set of stairs going down. They swirled into a circular shape, going lower and lower until I couldn't see them anymore. There were torches lit up with fire hanging on the wall next to the stairs, spread equally apart. Akira grabbed one of them and pointed it towards the stairs.

"Shall I go first, or shall you?" He asked, a smirk on his face.

"I don't care," I said, crossing my arms. Akira's smirk grew.

"Do you want Akira-oni-san to hold your hand while we walk down the dark stairs?" Akira said playfully.

"Shut up!" I said. He laughed, then grabbed my hand anyway. "Hey!" I protested.

"Let's go!" He said, running down the stairs.

"Akira!" I exclaimed.

**TIME LEAP **

I pulled my hand away from Akira's and glared at him.

"Oh come on, Amu-tan! Don't look at me like that," he said, pouting. My eye twitched at this sight.

"Whatever. Anyway, where the heck are we?" I asked, looking around. The walls, floor, and roof were made of brick, unlike up top. Cobwebs inhabited each corner, and I could tell there was a sheet of dust on the walls. I placed my finger against the brick wall to my left then took it off. The tip of my finger was now grey.

"We're in the dungeon, why of course," Akira replied, placing the torch on the wall.

'How the heck to those attach and detach?' I wondered.

"Let's go to where those humans are being kept," Akira said.

I clenched my fist.

'Don't speak of them as objects, bastard.' Is what I wanted to say. But of course, if I said that he would probably tear my face off.

I shuddered at the thought.

"What's wrong? Scared?" Akira asked, face innocent.

"Shut up!" I said.

"Uh uh uh! You can't speak to me that way...or who knows what will happen to you..." Akira said, raising my face with the tip of his index finger and staring into my eyes.

"..." I moved my face back, and Akira seemed pleased with my reaction. He walked off further into the dungeon, while I followed behind. I tried to keep a reasonable distance away from him, afraid that he might turn around and try to kill me.

After passing a number of metal doors, Akira stopped in front of one on his left and turned to face it.

"We're here," he said, grabbing a number of keys from his pocket that were all attached to a ring. He went through them, then when he finally found the one he wanted, he stuck it into the lock on the door.

He twisted the key, then put his other hand on the door and slowly opened it. The door screeched, making me wince. Akira pulled the key out and stuck it back in his pocket, still opening the door.

I tore my gaze away from the door, afraid to see what was inside.

"Amu-tan," Akira said firmly. He wasn't looking at me, and some of his silver hair covered his eyes.

"...what...?" I asked cautiously, still not looking inside.

"Why don't you go in first?" He asked, his serious expression being replaced with a smile. I furrowed my brows, but hesitantly stepped inside.

When I was in, Akira sighed. But when I turned around to look at him, a smile was on his face.

"Sorry, Amu-tan. I never wanted to do this, but I didn't have any choice! I hope you understand," he said, his smile still showing. Half of his face was covered by the shadows, a glint in the colourless eye that was showing.

"What?" I asked. Before I could react, the door slammed in my face and I heard a click outside, locking me inside the cell.

"Akira!" I shouted, banging on the door. A slate opened up near my eye level, causing me to stare into the dark eyes of Akira.

"Sorry, Amu-tan. I had fun with you, but you are just another obstacle on my path. And I promise you-I get rid of all my obstacles. However..." He said, his eyes sincerely sympathetic but turning dark and menacing once he said however. "That doesn't mean I can't have some more fun with you," he finished.

He then closed the slate before I could gouge his eyes out or something.

"AKIRA!" I shouted. I could hear his maniacal laugh as it drifted off into the distance. I hit the door one more time, before sighing in frustration.

'Of course he was gonna do this, I even suspected it! What the hell was I doing?!' I wondered, giving myself a mental face palm.

I breathed in, finally smelling the scent of something rotten. I wrinkled my nose and stopped breathing.

I slowly turned around, hoping nothing...surprising would be there to greet me.

Oh, how I wish that could've been true.

I turned around and saw Rima, Nagi, and Kukai's limp bodies lying against the wall.

I covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming, my eyes wide.

I tried opening my mouth to say something, ask if they were okay, maybe ask who had done this to them. But the only thing that came out was a soft whimper.

I ran to them, kneeling down beside Rima and placing my index finger and middle finger on her neck. Then I face palmed myself. I didn't need to do this! I was a freaking vampire; I could hear a human's heartbeat from a mile away. Okay. Exaggeration, but I didn't need to do this.

I removed my fingers from Rima's neck and pointed my ear in her direction.

'Why couldn't I hear her heartbeat before? Is she...already dead?' I thought. I shook my head. 'That can't be.'

I listened intently, and after a little bit I could finally hear a few heartbeats. They were quiet, but steady. I breathed a sigh of relief, then lightly shook Rima's shoulder.

"Rima? Wake up," I said softly, as if their fragile bodies would break at the sound of my voice.

"Amu...?" Rima whispered so quietly I almost didn't catch it.

"Rima? Are you alright?" I asked. Rima raise her hand, a pained look on her face.

It hurt to see her like this.

"Don't touch me!" She said, pushing away my hand.

"Eh?" I asked. "Rima, what's wrong?"

"I said don't touch me! You traitor!" She said.

'Traitor? What's she talking about?' I wondered.

"Rima?" I asked again, putting my hand on her shoulder.

But once again, she pushed it away.

"I said don't touch me, **vampire**!" She said through clenched teeth. My eyes widened, but only a little bit so Rima wouldn't notice.

"Vampire? What are you talking about?" I asked, moving back a little bit and furrowing my brows. Her eyes showed a feeling of pure hatred, directed toward me.

"You traitor...turning into one of **them**! I know why you ran...you practically saved us...but that didn't mean you had to turn into a monster!" Rima said, tears brimming her eyes.

"Rima, I was faced with a life or death situatio-!" I started, but was cut off.

"What kind of an excuse is that?" Kukai asked.

"K-Kukai...you're awake!" I said. I was glad he was okay, but I could tell those words directed at me were seething with hatred.

"Rima's right. Why did you betray us? We trusted you. We trusted you, and now here we are. And that wasn't a life or death situation," Kukai said, finally turning his head to face me. "It was either die, or die." He finished.

And he was right. I had died. It was either die proud as a human, or die and become a monster. I was afraid. Afraid of being in pain. Afraid of dying. But I had already died; what was the difference?

I understood why they thought I was a traitor.

I understood why they hated me.

The Hunger still stirred restlessly, ordering me to just kill the humans and drink their blood.

I understood.

I understood...so why did it hurt so much? Why did my chest clench and a lump enter my throat? Why did I feel this way, when I understood so well?

"I would appreciated it if you got away from Rima, vampire," Nagi said.

"Nagi! You're awake!" I said, relief flooding through me. But I could tell Nagi was definitely not relieved to see me.

"I said get away from her," Nagi repeated, standing up in front of Rima and glaring down at me. Rima clutched onto the back of Nagi's shirt, and that was when I realised their clothes were ragged and ripped.

I mentally face palmed myself for not realising sooner.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked cautiously, standing up as Nagi tensed.

"...we grew up," Kukai said, still sitting and looking into his palm. His eyes were dull and lifeless, different to the bright green eyes I used to know.

I looked over to Nagi. He, too, was different. His long, violet hair still shone beautifully, but his eyes were full of hatred and emotion.

I turned to looked at Rima, who had stood up and was still clutching onto Nagi's shirt, though her eyes were sad and pitying. Her hair was messy, bags under her eyes.

She raised her hand over her mouth and whispered into Nagi's ear. With my vampire senses, I could still hear what she was saying.

"Did Akira come here?" she asked. Her voice was trembling, making me wonder what Sarren had done to her.

"He probably came here with Hinamori," Nagi whispered back, glancing at me for a second. Rima's eyes widened in fear.

I looked away.

I didn't want to see them like this. I didn't want them to hate me... I didn't want them to think I was a traitor. But what was the point of wishing? I was the traitor... I was the one who betrayed my friends.

I had promised to stop the vampires, to kill them all and return humans to the top.

Return the world to normal.

But then what had I done? I had become a vampire, the one thing we all hated the most.

"Look..." I started, turning my back to them. "I won't kill you. I won't drink your blood. I'll stay in this corner the whole time," I said, walking over to the top left corner and sitting down with one of my legs crossed and the other bended up, my arm resting on it.

I closed my yes and ignored their stares.

"How can we trust you?" Kukai asked, finally standing up and moving closer to Rima and Nagi.

I opened one eye and looked at them, then sighed and closed it again.

"You can't. That's just that. But we don't know what Akira is going to do, and we don't have the defences or the strength to defeat him. For now, we should just stay put," I said matter-of-factly.

"Stay put and do what?" Nagi asked. I opened my eyes and blinked at him.

"Oh. Good question!" I said.

"Don't joke around!" Nagi said. Kukai placed his hand on Nagi's shoulder.

"Don't even try. We're nothing to this vampire," Kukai said.

'No...that's not true,' I thought. But would they really believe me if I told them that?

I held in a sigh and leaned my head against the brick wall. Suddenly, Kanin's head popped up in my mind.

'That's right! He dressed up as a waiter and tried to help me! And then I probably...got him...killed...' I thought. 'Argh! Don't think like that, Amu! He can't have died...'

I opened my eyes and saw Rima, Nagi, and Kukai huddled together in one corner, trying to sleep but afraid of the vampire in the corner across from them.

My internal clock was telling me it was around 4 am, and I could feel my eyelids getting heavy.

'For now...I'll sleep...and then work this out later...' I thought, falling into a dream.

**DREAM **

"Amu...Amu...Amu, wake up," Kanin said in a sing song voice, different to his usual emotionless state. I slowly opened my eyes, looking into his dark ones.

"Kanin...? Where are we?" I asked, sitting up.

"Sh...lie down and rest...this'll all be over soon," he said, pushing me down lightly.

"What's going on? Where are we? Kanin?!" I asked, getting more anxious by the second.

"This'll all be over soon..." he repeated, slowly disappearing from my sight.

"Monster."

"Who was that?!" I asked, sitting up.

"Monster...monster...monster..."

Suddenly, a pale Rabid appeared before me, drool streaming down it's chin. I instinctively raised my hand to my back, trying to reach for the hilt of Yorukozu, when I remembered she wasn't there.

'Crap...' I thought, clenching my teeth and staring at the Rabid. It snarled, then lunged.

I was ready to run, when it turned into a flash of light. I raised my arms to block the light, when I found myself on the floor. Rabids were screeching around me, an immense pain in every part of my body.

A dark streak appeared, and all the Rabids fell down one by one. A man appeared before me, dark hair and dark eyes.

'Kanin...?' I thought. 'Eh? Why can't I speak? Why isn't anything coming out?!'

My eyelids felt heavy, and I felt myself on the verge of sleep.

'No... No! Don't fall asleep yet! I don't want to...' I thought, but it was no use. As Kanin called my name, I drifted off back to the world known as sleep.

"Amu...Amu, wake up. There's no more time," Kanin said. I opened my eyes once more and saw his.

"No more time...?" I asked.

"Yes. I will be leaving soon, and I couldn't go without telling you," he said.

"Where will you be going?" I asked.

"...I am a monster, so I do not know if I will go to heaven or hell," he replied.

"Heaven? Hell?"

"Yes. I will soon be leaving...this world."

"B-but-! Why? You aren't hurt, are you?!"

"I'm sorry, Amu. Just remember: you may be a monster, but you can choose which monster you will be. You can be a mindless one, one who ravages villages just to find humans to kill, or a lesser monster, one who watches who they kill. However, either way, you will be a monster. Do not forget that."

And with that, he disappeared.

**END OF DREAM **

My eyes flashed open, my breaths fast and short. I put one hand up to my head and rubbed my temples with my index finger and thumb. I sighed at the same time.

Rima, Nagi and Kukai had fallen asleep still huddled together. Considering the situation we were in, I smiled gently at the sight. However, looking at their ragged forms made my smile vanish.

What had Akira done to them? And what had happened that made them so...mature? Kukai's words rang in my head.

"We grew up," he had said. For that one moment, he had such a pained look in his eyes that I could almost feel the pain myself.

'Akira...what the hell did you do? What did you tell them about me?' I wondered.

My internal clock told me it was about 6 pm. I was fully awake, but what could I do to entertain myself?

I looked over to Rima, Nagi and Kukai, and the Hunger stirred restlessly.

I shook my head. I couldn't think about my frien-...ex-friends like that. I sighed, twirling a bit of my pink hair between my index finger and thumb. Before, when I was still a human, my hair was light and shiny.

When I turned into a vampire, my hair had become darker in colour. I don't know how it got that way, but it suit me better this way.

I looked up and saw Kukai staring at me. I tilted my head to the side, questioning him. He shook his head, then stood up and sat down next to me.

Okay, he actually sat about 2 metres away from me.

"Why?" Kukai said softly.

"Eh?" I asked, turning my head to look at him. However, he wasn't looking at me.

"Why did it come to this?"

"What do you mean?" I turned my head back to face in front of me.

"You weren't supposed to turn into a vampire. We weren't suppose to lose Tadase. We weren't supposed to lose Kentaro. We aren't supposed to be here, in this dungeon, rotting alive."

"Kukai..."

"Don't." He finally faced me. "I understand that what happens, happens. I've accepted it. I've accepted death." He turned back to face in front of him.

"Look at me," I said.

"What?" He gave me a questioning look then immediately turned his head back, but it was enough time to inspect him. I gave a tight smile.

"You haven't accepted death yet," I said.

"What?" Kukai asked, glaring at me. "What gives you the right to say that?"

"I don't have the right to say it. But I can tell. The look in your eyes...on your face. Your heartbeat, even the way your blood flows. I can tell you haven't accepted death yet. But of course, you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to," I said, sighing as I remembered Yorukozu was gone. Well, not forever.

I would get out of this dungeon, get Yorukozu and kill Akira, that bastard!

I clenched my fist, then noticed Kukai was staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"I really don't get vampires..." he said.

"I really don't get myself."

"What does that mean?"

"It means what it means. I just don't understand myself. Whether it be how my body works, or why I haven't killed you yet, it's all the same."

"By the way..." Kukai said, shifting closer to me by a whole metre. "Why haven't you killed us yet? Don't you...have to drink blood to survive?"

"Yes, that's true, but for a while, the 'Hunger', as we call it, can be tamed. Of course, it can never fully go away, or never fully be satisfied. However, if vampires go too long without...drinking blood, they can drown fully in insanity. If they are not confined, they will not stop to think about who they kill, or who's blood they drink...even if it was their friend's."

A silence loomed over us, consuming me. I couldn't stand it. Why? Who knows.

"Is that really what it's like being a vampire?" Rima asked, looking at us with emotionless eyes. I looked at my palm, pale skin unrecognisable.

"Yes, it is," I replied.

"What are you guys-" Nagi, who had finally woken up, was cut off by a loud crash coming from the right of the room.

And the person standing there, was no other than Kanin

**Kukai POV **

"Is that really what it's like being a vampire?" Rima asked. She had woken up, and was looking at us with emotionless eyes. Amu looked at her palm, then looked back up.

"Yes, it is," she replied.

"What are you guys-" Nagi, who had also woken up, was cut off by a loud crash from the left of the room. When the dust disappeared and I could finally see who was the cause of the broken wall.

When I did see him, I immediately stood up and pointed at him.

"It's you!" I exclaimed.

**Flashback (kukai pov) **

"We've lost them!" I said, face palming myself.

"No way! How did that happen?" Tadase asked.

"Well, whatever. We just have to get to them!" Nagi said, picking up his speed. Tadase and I did the same.

Suddenly, we were stopped in our steps by a gigantic horde of Rabids.

"Shit!" I whispered through clenched teeth, shifting my feet to stop myself from crashing into the Rabids. Tadase and Nagi stopped beside me, cautiously unsheathing their swords as I did the same.

"Ready?" I whispered. Tadase and Nagi nodded. As we were just about to charge, I saw a few Rabid heads drop from the crowd.

'What the-?' I thought, squinting. Then a few other heads fell. Then a few others. And more. And even more, until most of the Rabids had been cut down. (The others escaped! How do I explain this feeling? Annoyed? Anyways, on with the story!)

A man with dark hair appeared, sword in hand and a sort of mad glint in his eyes. However, he seemed as emotionless as Rima.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Tadase, Nagi and I stared at him before stuttering and stumbling over our words.

"E-eh? W-what? H-huh?" We asked.

I saw a hint of a smirk appear on the man's face, but it disappeared in less then a millisecond.

"Are you alright?" He repeated. I blinked at him a few times, taking in his appearance.

"U-uh I'm alright...thank you," I said.

"We're fine too, thanks Kukai," Nagi said. My eye twitched a bit, but I ignored it.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying not to sound harsh. The man smiled, then turned so his back was facing us.

"That doesn't matter. In a world like this, you have to remember not to give your name to strangers... To remember not to trust anyone," he said.

"So why did you help us?" Tadase asked, stepping beside me. The man turned his head and smirked.

"I felt like helping some more humans," he said, shrugging and walking off. Before long, he had disappeared completely into the shadows.

"A vampire," I said.

"What?" Nagi asked.

"I see...yes, it seems he is a vampire," Tadase said.

"A vampire? Why would one of them help us?" Nagi asked, squinting into the distance.

"Who knows," I said. "For now, let's get back to the girls."

"Hai!" Tadase and Nagi said in unison, following me as I started running.

**End of Flahback**

**Amu POV **

"Kukai...you know Kanin?" I asked him, staring at his finger which was pointed at the vampire. Kukai looked over at me and blinked, flabbergasted.

"You know this guy too?" he asked. I nodded.

"He's my-" I started, but was cut off by Kanin appearing in front of me and clamping his hand over my mouth. I sighed and gave him a tired glare. Looking at my expression, he removed his hand from my face.

"I'm sorry, but the only thing I can tell you is that I know who Kanin is, nothing more," I said, earning a nod from Kanin.

"How do you know this guy?" Rima asked Kukai.

"This isn't the time," Kanin said, his voice booming around the room, even though he wasn't shouting or raising his voice.

We all turned to face him, and then the question finally dawned on me. Why had I not thought about it when I first saw him completely destroy the wall?

"Why are you here?" I asked. By the noise that attack made, Akira-or his guards-would be coming soon. In fact, I could already hear a couple more heartbeats coming our way.

"Isn't it obvious? You made a pretty big problem for me to figure out. Just follow me. I can feel the guards coming," Kanin replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rima tense up.

'That's right...she has no idea who Kanin is, but Nagi and Kukai do,' I realised. 'And after all that's happened, I can't blame her for being careful.'

"I can feel them to," I said. "Are you guys going to come with us? Or do you want to stay with Akira?" I asked Rima, Nagi and Kukai.

This time, all of them tensed up and their heartbeats quicken.

'All at the sound of Akira's name...' I thought.

"If you don't drink our blood, I'll come," Kukai said.

"If Kukai's going, I may as well," Nagi said. He turned to Rima and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, I'm sure Kukai has a good plan. And Kanin helped us before."

Rima nodded her head, both to me and Nagi.

"Alright, then we better hurry," I said, turning to Kanin. He probably knew what I was thinking.

'These humans will never keep up with us,' we thought in unison.

"What should we do? And make it quick," I said.

"Let's just grab them and run. We don't want them to drag us down. Plus, this is better than getting caught by bat-shit crazy Akira," Kanin said. I let out a small laugh.

'That's the first time I've ever heard him say something like that,' I thought.

"What?" Kanin asked, eyeing me.

"Whatever, the guards are way too close. Let's go!" I said, grabbing onto Rima, forcing her to piggy-back ride me. Kanin grabbed Nagi and Kukai, hauling them up on his shoulders.

Just as the guards burst into the room, we jumped out the hole.

"Come back here!" I heard them shout. I smirked at them flailing their arms around.

"LET GO OF ME!" Rima screamed in my ear.

"Ouch! Ok, labelling me as a traitor is one thing, but making me deaf is another!" I said angrily, hearing a ringing in my ears. At the word 'traitor', Rima shut her mouth and stopped moving around.

"Hinamori, do not worry about something as trivial as that," Kanin said.

"Oi, you son of a...!" I said, glaring at him. Kanin sighed tiredly, ignoring the two humans flailing around on his back.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Back home," he replied.

**Time leap **

"Make yourselves comfortable," I said, setting Rima down onto a couch. As I did, she shifted a bit closer to Nagi, who was sitting next to her.

"Ok, the first question I have to ask is, how the heck did you get to us? I mean save us?" I asked, directing my attention to Kanin.

"First of all, I was only expecting to save you," he said, pointing his index finger at me. "However, once I saw who the humans were, I just thought it would be ok to save them as well. It wasn't that hard to find you-all I did was break all the dungeon walls down."

"S-seriously? What about all the humans and Fighters and EVERYONE who heard you?" I asked.

"I was quick enough," Kanin said.

"That isn't good enough! What if you were captured again? And talking about being captured, were you alright? Nanashi had some guards take you away, right? What'd they do to you?" I asked.

Kanin raised an eyebrow.

"Actually caring about your master? The one who-" Kanin started, but stopped when he looked over at Rima, Nagi and Kukai.

**(A/N: Amu: Argh so many names...maybe I should make an anagram? RNK...naw, that's weird. What should I call them?**

** Lily: Do what you want. I have to get on with this story.**

** Amu: Hm...Rigikai? Yeah! That sounds awesome!**

** Lily: You sure? What about Namaku?**

** Amu: Ooh! That sounds cool too!**

** Lily: And what about Kurigi?**

** Amu: No. How about Kaimagi? Naw. Giriku? Naw.**

** Lily: Rinakai? Naw... Kaimagi? Naw... Kainari? Naw...**

** Amu: I think Rigikai.**

** Lily: I think Namaku.**

** Amu: Rigikai! It has a ring to it, desho?**

** Lily: ...**

** Amu: Ok, that settles it! It's Rigikai.**

** Lily: Sigh...fine.) **

Kanin was probably going to say 'the one who killed your parents' or something like that.

"So," I said, turning to face Rigikai.

**(Name for Rima, Nagi and Kukai. It's too long to write, if you didn't read the A/N before this one.) **

"What shall you guys do?" Kanin finished off.

"Oi!" I said, glaring at Kanin. He just avoided my gaze, making me even more pissed off.

"What time is it?" I asked Kanin.

"To be exact, it's about 6:48 pm," he replied.

"I see," I said. "You guys tired?" I asked Rigikai.

They shook their heads politely.

"Kanin, come here for a bit," I said, grabbing Kanin's arm and pulling him into another room.

"What should we do?" I asked, once I was sure Rigikai couldn't hear us.

"What do you mean?" Kanin asked.

"What should we do with the humans?" I didn't enjoy talking about them like objects, but Kanin would get suspicious if I talked like they meant something to me.

"What do you want to do? Of course, we can't let them live here forever."

"Yeah, you're right. We can just offer them a night to stay, then tell them they have to go."

"We don't have any food for them, though,"

"Huh? You don't have any food?"

"Yes. You see, vampires find it difficult to digest human food. In fact, we usually vomit it out. However, it seems liquids are digestible."

"I knew that much about the liquids, since I did drink a coffee back at the cafe... So then what should we do with them?"

"It's too late to get them food."

"And Akira probably starved them in that dungeon. Do you have a shower or a bath?"

"Yes. I can see where you're going."

"Yeah."

We walked back into the room where Rigikai were sitting.

"So. We can offer you a night over and a shower or bath," I said, looking at their ragged clothes and dirty skin. "However, we have no food to offer."

Suddenly, all of their stomachs growled with hunger. I twisted my lip up into a small smirk.

"I guess that's not enough," I said, turning to Kanin. "Wanna do it?"

"Sure. Unless you think you'll be killed," Kanin said. My smirk grew.

"Yeah right," I retorted. I turned back to Rigikai. "You guys can stay here. We're going to forage for food."

"But isn't it dangerous out there? You've already done enough for us, so it's alright," Nagi said.

"No, she just wants to fight someone. She's pretty pissed off...at Akira. For some reason," Kanin said. I ignored Rigikai's questioning looks, then raised my hand to my back-and to my dismay, I remembered I had left Yorukozu back at Akira's castle.

"Argh, I'm so stupid!" I shouted angrily, tousling my hair with both my hands.

"What's wrong?" Kanin asked.

"I...left Yorukozu back at Akira's castle..." I said, sulking. Kanin sighed.

"First of all, castle? Second, don't worry," he said. I looked up at him with my brows furrowed and an eyebrow raised.

He brought something out of his coat and gave it to me. I took it graciously, my eyes shining.

"Thank you!" I said, feeling the familiar hilt of Yorukozu.

"I just ran into her when I was going through the dungeon. You should take better care of yourself and your weapons," Kanin said.

"Whatever," I said. I turned to Rigikai. "See you later!"

I made my way to the front door and opened it, feeling the cold air whip past my face. Kanin walked up behind me, sword at the ready.

I slid Yorukozu onto my back and smirked at Kanin.

"You ready?" I asked.

"More ready than you'll ever be," he replied.

"Shut up!" I said.

"Well then, let's go," Kanin said, following me as I stepped outside.

* * *

**Lily: Hey guys! Finally it's FINISHED! Now I can get on with my other fanfics. Also, yay! A longish chapter!**

**Amu: Next is 28 days later, right?**

**Lily: Correct! Anyway, how'd you like this chapter? It seems unreal that Rigikai are still alive.**

**Amu: Yeah, I was surprised too... Why'd you keep them alive?**

**Lily: Cause then it'd be more interesting than talking about you sitting in a dungeon all day/night.**

**Amu: I guess...**

**Lily: Plus, it was probably interesting to find out that Kukai and Nagi knew Kanin as well. I just thought that would be a good idea, so yeah.**

**Amu: I see... Anyway, review!**

**Lily: See ya next time! Depending how long it takes me to come back to this fanfic. (I write each fanfic in order: this one, then 28 Days Later, then Let Me Heal Your Scars.)**

**Amu: Bye bye!**


	9. Chapter 8-A Demon and A Friend

**Lily: Hey guys!**

**Amu: You seem so happy.**

**Lily: Do I?**

**Amu: Yes.**

**Lily: Well anyway, it seems Kanin and Amu have created a new bond! At least they don't hate each other, you know?**

**Amu: I still hate him, but he was the one who kept me alive this whole time. In fact, he even came to save me in the dungeon.**

**Lily: I guess...**

**Amu: Anyway, it's so awkward between me and Rigikai! (Rima, Nagi, and Kukai)**

**Lily: Yeah, especially since they look at you as an uragirimono.**

**Amu: Uragirimono: Traitor. And yeah, I'm the traitor. *sigh* Oh well, what's done is done. And I may be a monster, but just like Kanin said, I can choose which monster I will be.**

**Lily: That was supposed to be in the story! Don't say it in the intro!**

**Amu: It doesn't really matter, right?**

**Lily: *sighs tiredly and shakes head* Ok guys, enjoy the chapter.**

**Amu: Enjoy!**

**Ikuto: I'm never gonna be introduced, am I?**

**Lily & Amu: Probably not in a few chapters. ^_^**

**Ikuto: T-T**

* * *

**Amu POV**

I made my way to the front door and opened it, feeling the cold air whip past my face. Kanin walked up behind me, sword at the ready.

I slid Yorukozu onto my back and smirked at Kanin.

"You ready?" I asked.

"More ready than you'll ever be," he replied.

"Shut up!" I said.

"Well then, let's go," Kanin said, following me as I stepped outside.

**Time Leap **

I yawned, lifting the bag over my shoulder. The cans of food made clinking noises, before calming down.

"Is this enough?" Kanin asked, also hauling a bag full of food over his shoulder.

"From experience, yeah, I'm pretty sure this is enough," I said, an obviously sarcastic smile on my face.

"I keep telling you to stop comparing things to your old human life. Things have changed, and the more you remember, the more you get attached. Let your old life go," Kanin said.

"It's not that easy to forget about the life you used to have. But of course, you wouldn't know that, would you?" I asked, accidentally sending a glare his way.

For a moment, an unreadable expression crossed over Kanin's face, but disappeared almost instantly. If I wasn't a vampire, I probably wouldn't have noticed it.

"Anyway, we have to go. Our presence probably didn't go unnoticed," I said.

"Ordering your teacher around? You have guts, at least," Kanin said.

"Whatever!"

"So, let us go."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Making sure the bag on my back wouldn't fall off, I made my way to what I think was the back door, Kanin following closely behind.

Our footsteps were silent on the wooden floor, the only sounds wind and a couple cicadas outside. I slowly opened the door and peaked out, turning my head side to side to make sure the coast was clear.

I turned my head back to Kanin and nodded my head, signalling we could go out. I slid out into the shadows, thanking the God that the street lights were broken. (You'd think only a few were broken, but all of them were! Surprising, I guess?)

Kanin and I silently made our way back to the path leading to his house. This time, Kanin leaded, as I still couldn't remember the way and might accidentally make us go to my old...home...

My throat clenched at the word, but I pushed the thought away.

'Kanin told me not to get attached to my human life. If I do, it could be the destruction of me. I have to let go-for everybody's benefit,' I thought, gripping the hilt of Yorukozu.

I need to let go.

**Time leap **

"We're back!" I said, plonking the bag I was hauling on my shoulder onto the ground. The cans inside made their annoying rattle, then settled down once again. Kanin did the same, looking around-probably for anything suspicious.

"I don't feel any presences," he said. I turned and gave him a confused look. "I don't feel anyone else's presence in the house," he repeated.

"Vampires can sense presences?" I asked. Kanin thought for a bit before replying.

"Not all vampires. But it's not just those vampires who can sense presences, humans can as well. Of course, vampires can sense them better than humans can. Everybody should be able to sense at least some kind of presence-it may just be a gut feeling, but it's still the same. For some, it's just instincts. For others, it's more refined and easier to do. So, everyone can sense presences in one way or another," he replied.

I felt my self-confidence shatter at this matter of fact statement.

'Why couldn't I ever sense presences? Maybe I wasn't concentrating? But Kanin said everybody could sense them, so I should too! Or maybe I'm the only one who can't sense people' s presences? But then, does that mean I'm weak? Argh, but I can use a sword when others can't! So why can't I sense presences? Most likely because I didn't know I could... Yeah, that's it!' I thought.

"So anyways, what's with the, 'I can't sense any presences' thing?" I asked.

"The humans have gone," Kanin said bluntly. A bit too bluntly, may I add.

"Eh?!" I exclaimed. I ran into the lounge. "Not here..."

Into all the bedrooms-ok, there were only like, four but whatever.

"Not here," I said again.

The kitchen.

Nup.

Toilets?

Nope.

Bathroom!

Uh uh.

...

I sighed and raked a hand through my dark pink hair. After sulking for a little bit, the anger made it's way up to my throat.

"We just came back with food for them! And now they're gone?! Plus, we never encountered anyone, no one at all! I never got to fight! What a waste of food!" I raged on, as kanin walked up to me.

"There's nothing we can do about it now. It was their decision to leave, so be it. It is not our problem," Kanin said.

"What about the food? We obviously can't eat it," I said.

"Give it to the Rabids?"

"Don't joke around!"

"We could just throw it into the forest,"

"Let's just keep it, in case any more humans come uninvited,"

I walked back to the front door where the bags were and lifted them both up and into the kitchen, plopping them down on the island.

"I'll just keep them refrigerated for now. If they begin to rot, the Rabids will like it," I said, already starting to put the cans away.

"And here I was, being criticized on even thinking we could give the food to the Rabids. However, you can get away with it. Interesting, isn't it?" Kanin said.

"Shut up," I said, placing a can of vegetables in the fridge. I had always thought pineapple, beans, and tuna were the only things that were kept in cans. It made me wonder why people would even need to put vegetables in a can, or anything else, for that matter.

"Were they your friends?" Kanin asked, making me almost drop a can.

I had expected him to ask this question sooner or later, but when he actually did, it caught me off guard.

"Why are you asking?" I retorted, trying to avoid the question.

"Does it matter?"

"Does it matter if they're my friends?"

"Yes."

I sighed at that and continued putting the food into the fridge, my hand staying the same temperature. If I were human, it would've been freezing by now.

"Why do you want to know?" I rephrased my first question.

"If they are your friends, you will feel attached to them, and might even try to go after them, just to know if they are alive," Kanin replied. I stayed silent, Kanin taking the opportunity to continue. "And when you do see them, they will only look at you as a traitor, or monster."

"You don't know that!" I shouted, a can clattering as it hit the floor.

"Oh really?" Kanin sighed. Then he grasped my arm firmly with one hand. "You can not go. If you do possibly get attached to those humans, it will only get worse from there. Vampires and humans will never be together. We will always look at them as food, and they will always look at us as monsters."

"Then I'll choose which monster I'll be!" I shouted, shrugging Kanin's arm off. My mind flashed back to the dream I had, where Kanin had told me I could choose which monster I could be.

"There are two types of monsters," I continued. "One who lets go of his sanity and kills whatever human he sees, even if they're his friends. And the other who chooses which humans he kills, or takes blood from. Criminals, murderers, even people who suicide."

"Hinamori-" Kanin said, but I stopped him.

"I know. I know they're both monsters, and I can't escape that fact. But that doesn't mean I can't be a lesser monster. I won't try to kill humans for no good reason. I won't take blood from them indiscriminately."

Kanin observed me a bit more with furrowed brows, then sighed. He left the room without another word, leaving me to put the rest of the cans of food into the fridge.

**Time Leap **

"Hinamori. Hinamori," someone said. Something cold grasped my shoulders and shook me. I grumble and tried pushing the person away, but it was like trying to push a 50 kilogram stone away.

I sighed. Plan B time!

"Go away," I said. (best plan B ever)

"Wake up," I could finally tell who it was trying to awake me from my wonderful slumber. Damn you, Kanin. Damn you. I opened my eyes and glared at him.

"Go away!" I said again, grabbing the pillow next to my head(not the one I was sleeping on) and threw it at Kanin's face. Of course, being the fast vampire he is, he caught it with his left hand.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Wake up," he repeated.

"Fuck off!" I shouted.

"Don't speak like that to your teacher."

"Oh shut up."

No one-and I mean NO ONE-bothers me when I sleep. And that rule only got more strict when I turned into a vampire. It hurt to wake up! It HURT! How the hell does that happen?

"Come on, get up," Kanin said. I sighed and closed my eyes again. "Hinamori."

"Go. Away." I said angrily.

"This is important."

I opened one eye and stared intently at Kanin.

Oh god. He was serious.

I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes.

"What's up?" I asked, careful not to step on a landmine. Well, I probably already did. Kanin seemed pissed.

"I have to show you something important," Kanin replied.

"Why not some other time? What's so important that it had to be now?" I asked.

"It has to be now. Otherwise, I will never be able to show you again."

I furrowed my brows. It's been a while since Kanin was this serious. But then again, he's always serious...but this time was different!

"Fine. Just let me change," I said, looking down at my plain white singlet and shorts with a floral pattern.

Kanin nodded his head and went out my room, closing the door behind him.

I jumped out of bed and stripped, grabbing a dark long sleeved shirt and track suit pants, putting them on quickly. Then I put on a coat with a turtle neck (can't be too safe!) and four buttons on the chest that I thought was...pretty. The coat was a dark, chocolaty colour that went down to my ankles. I also grabbed Yorukozu in the process.

I went out my room, where Kanin was standing.

"You ready?" he asked. I nodded. "Put on some shoes."

"Eh?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

"We'll be going somewhere."

"Where?"

"You'll know later. Just put on some shoes."

"Fine."

I walked over to the front door and put on my boots, then walked back to Kanin.

**(A/N: This is kinda getting boring...but don't worry! It will get interesting later!) **

"Let's go," he said. I nodded, curious as to what we were doing. Kanin had asked me to put on my boots, but we didn't go out the front door. Was there a back door somewhere?

I followed closely behind Kanin, until we reached a large, metal door.

'How the heck did I not notice this?!' I wondered, my eye twitching.

Next to the door was a number lock, the numbers 0-10 glowing on it.

"Remember this number," Kanin said, turning his head to check I was listening. I nodded. "6825."

"Right," I said. Kanin pressed those numbers in the same order. I heard a click, then the metal door slowly opened.

"Stay close," he said. I nodded at that.

Once the door opened, Kanin and I stepped inside. There were stairs going down into the darkness. Kanin turned to me and gestured for me to go ahead. I hesitantly walked down the stairs, keeping my hand on the wall.

Once I got to the bottom and the stairs adjoined to a hall, I decided to breathe in, since it was the thing I did every time I entered somewhere new.

My nose twitched.

'This smell...' I thought. I immediately stopped breathing.

The smell in this room...was rotten and disgusting.

**Utau POV (haven't had one of these in a while!) **

"Yaya," I called out.

"What is it, Uatu-chi?" She replied, poking one of the Rabid corpses with a VERY long stick. After this long, I was surprised that the Rabid corpses were still here.

"This wound...there's no mistaking it," I said, gesturing to a Rabid that had almost been cut in half. Yaya jogged over and inspected it, her eyes widening once she realised.

"This is..." she said.

"Yeah. Amu's sword must've created this wound. No one else would've been able to," I said.

"Yaya saw something like that near here!" Yaya exclaimed, dragging me to another Rabid no less than a metre away from the first one. It had nearly the same wound, but it was slightly different.

"This is-!" I exclaimed. Yaya nodded.

"Amu-chi and Tadase-chi have been here!" she said. Yes, I recognised this wound pattern. I've seen it before, when Tadase was practising with his katana.

That wound was created by Tadase.

Yaya and I inspected the other Rabids (against our will, of course-those Rabids are gross!), and found that they all had the same sword patterns on it. Amu's sword was very different to ours, and so was Tadase's.

Amu's sword was a bit rougher; I could tell she had used it for a long time. The sharp side of her katana was, of course, still sharp, but more...'experienced'. I could tell, when she joined our group, that she had used that sword for many things.

In our group, we had been given many similar swords. Yaya and I, we could barely tell the difference between our swords. Tadase was offered the same sword, but he had insisted on using a different one, because he was...well, different.

We finally had something to work on.

'Wait for us, Amu,' I thought.

**Amu POV **

I wrinkled my nose at the awful smell in the room. Kanin stopped behind me.

"Where the hell are we?" I asked. The floor was concrete (now I know why Kanin forced me to put on shoes!) as were the walls. However, there were windows aligned on the wall to my left and to my right.

"We're in a laboratory," Kanin replied. I furrowed my brow at this.

'A laboratory? Why the hell is that kind of thing here?' I wondered.

"Why?" I simply asked.

"There's too many ways to interpret that question. Why are we here? Why am I showing you this now? Why does it stink so bad in here? Why is a laboratory here? You have to make the question less broad," Kanin said.

"Ugh I don't even know..." I said, looking from side to side.

"Go ahead and look in the window," Kanin said, gesturing to my left. I was a bit suspicious, but this was Kanin. He had to have a good reason for doing this. Whatever 'this' was.

I stepped over to my left. The window was a bit higher than my head, so I had to stand on my tip-py toes to see inside.

I furrowed my brows at the sight.

"What the..." I whispered.

It looked just like a normal hospital, but it was dirty and messy. Chemical bottles had been spilled all over the floor, the glass scattering everywhere. There were normal hospital beds that probably used to be lined up properly, but they were scattered in different directions.

Other than these things, nothing seemed out of place.

"Kanin, what's th-" I was about to turn around to confront Kanin, when suddenly a decaying face appeared in front of mine.

Forgetting totally about the glass in front that kept me safe(mostly safe...) I jumpd back and bared my fangs, snarling at the rotting thing.

"Kanin, what the hell is this?!" I asked. The rotting...thing bashed it's head against the glass, blood splattering all over it. Actually...

Now that I thought about it, there were lots of dry red patches all around the place. Well, not outside in the hall Kanin and I were in, but on the other side of the glass.

Speaking of the glass, I wondered how long it would last with that thing bashing against it.

"This is a failed experiment," Kanin replied.

"Huh? A failed experiment? What the hell does that mean?" I asked.

"Calm down. I know you were surprised, but do not worry. That thing can not break the glass. Actually...I meant that vampire," Kanin said, waiting for my reaction. I furrowed my brows.

"Vampire? What would a rotting, decaying vampire be doing here?"

"As I said, it is failed experiment."

"So what you're saying is that experiments on vampires went on in here?"

"Yes, that is right."

"...what type of experiments?"

"Experiments for a cure to Red Lung."

**Nanashi POV (yay! Nanashi's back! Well he was never gone but whatever...) **

"That damn BASTARD!" Akira screamed, slamming his fist into the wall. His silver hair flowed up as he did this, his anger clear on his face.

"Akira-sama, please calm down," I said carefully, not wanting to anger him even more.

'Should we put him in the room?' I wondered. He definitely was having a fit, but I could understand...but then again, this isn't different from all those other fits he goes through.

"Don't you understand?!" Akira asked. I hesitated. "Kanin that damn bastard and his daughter have ESCAPED! Do you know what will happen now?!"

I shook my head, slightly in defeat(yeah I know...but hey, Akira is pretty...what's the word...defiant?).

"Kanin is one of the only people who know...**that,**" Akira said, gripping the table in front of him. My eyes slightly widened.

'Kanin knows? But how? Akira wouldn't just tell someone that... Did he find out accidentally? No, Akira's a master at hiding his secret...' I thought.

Akira sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Nanashi," Akira said, looking intently at me. He was glaring at me, but I knew that the anger behind it wasn't directed at me.

It was that man Kanin who had created this mess...

"What is it, Akira-sama?" I asked.

"Plan B."

**Amu POV **

"Experiments for a cure to Red Lung?" I repeated.

Why did they do...that here? And how the hell was Kanin related to this? And...what created those **things**?

"Yes," Kanin replied. I stared at the once-vampire thing. After a moment or two, it ceased it's rage rant and moved away from the glass.

I furrowed my brows in confusion at this.

'When I was near the window, it popped up, but now it leaves, even though it can see me perfectly clearly?' I wondered. A look of realization crossed my face.

'Maybe...it can't see me? Maybe it's blind?' I thought.

"However..." Kanin said. I looked up at him. "These failed experiments can not see. They see with their ears."

"You're a mind reader, aren't you?" I asked. Kanin raised one eyebrow(obviously, the rest of his face stayed exactly the same).

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Uh, nothing..." I replied. "So...why are you showing me this now? Why not later?"

"Soon enough, you will know," Kanin said. My eye twitched at that.

'Yeah. that totally answers my question, thanks Kanin,' I thought.

"Ok, next question: why did you show me this at all?" I asked. Kanin thought for a moment.

"You needed to know sooner or later," Kanin said. The twitching got worse.

"You're just making everything worse!" I exclaimed, but quietly just in case the failed experiment came back. Ah, of course I was too loud. Of course.

The vampire came back and screeched at us. I ignored it this time, wanting to get all these questions out.

"What do you have to do with these...failed experiments?" I asked, slightly afraid of the answer. Once again, Kanin hesitated. But, once again, there was an emotionless face plastered on.

"I..." Kanin inhaled and exhaled slowly.(first time EVER!) "I surrendered my own kind to the scientists working in this lab."

I slightly furrowed my brows, but (I hoped) it went unnoticed my Kanin, who stood there waiting for my reaction.

"Why? Why didn't you give them humans?" I asked. I slightly grimaced when I said this, as either way was bad. I didn't want this to happen to vampires, now that I was one, but I didn't want any humans to be like this either.

"You really think I had the heart to do that?" Kanin asked. I would laugh at the irony if the topic wasn't so serious. I avoided Kanin's gaze.

"I guess not...but then again, did you have the heart to give them your own kind?" I retorted. I saw Kanin's eyes flicker with some sort of an emotion, but when he blinked it was gone.

"I must've," he replied.

That was when I realised...

I actually knew nothing about Kanin.

**Utau POV **

"Ne, Yaya," I called out.

No answer. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. Why was it now that I felt so alone?

Once we realised Tadase and Amu had been in the forest not too long ago, we decided to go back to the house and work on the lead we had.

We had (very carefully) dragged the Rabid corpses back to the house and into an empty room nobody occupied. We put the corpses on a table we had pulled in, and I started working on them. Yaya had walked out some time or other.

She was probably bored or something at staring at Rabid corpses the whole time. Either that or disgusted.

"Yaya-chan?" I called out again.

No answer...

I put down the tweezers I was using and took off my gloves, placing them on the table and walking out of the room. I closed the door behind me and pulled down the mask that covered my nose and mouth, looking around.

'She's not here,' I noticed. I turned to my left and walked down the hall, ignoring the stares from other Fighters.

Not like I could help it, I was wearing this weird white scientist...thingy that went over my head, over every part of my body except my hands, feet, and face. On my face, I had a mask that doctors wear and goggles shielding my eyes.

On my hands I wore plastic gloves (that I had taken off). On my feet, I still wore shoes, but I put these baggy things over them that looked like those baggy shower hat things that you wear when you don't want your hair to get wet.

My outfit would obviously attract a lot of attention, so it would be better if I ignored all the stares. Hey, if you were me, you obviously wouldn't want to touch the inside of a Rabid, right?

I quickly walked down the stairs (more like half-jumped) and looked side to side for Yaya.

"Yaya?" I called out, louder this time.

"UTAU-CHI!" Yaya screamed, bursting through the door. I slightly jumped back at the surprise.

"What is it?" I asked, jogging over to her.

"I found-" Yaya was cut off by her hard breathing. "I found-*pant*-something!-*pant*-Tadase!-*pant*-He's -*choking sound?*-he's there! In the forest! Something's-*pant*-wrong! He's not moving!" Yaya exclaimed.

"What?! Tadase? In the forest? W-well, let's go!" I said.

"Swords!" Yaya reminded me. "And clothes." She pointed at my outfit. I nodded, sprinting up to my room and hastily changing into a plain white singlet and slightly baggy tracksuit pants. Then I proceeded to run into the armoury room and grabbed our swords.

Once I got back to Yaya, I handed her her sword and ran out the house towards the forest, ony one thought going through my mind.

We had found Tadase.

**Amu POV **

"Kanin...-san..." I said softly.

"What's with that -san?" he asked.

"Eh? Um...I don't know...it seemed more formal," I replied. Kanin raised an eyebrow.

"Formal? I don't remember anything about you or anything you did that was formal," Kanin said.

"Oh shut up!" I exclaimed.

-BANG-

"Oh go away! I'm busy!" I shouted at the decaying vampire. For now, let's call it a zombie. I turned back to Kanin, sighing.

"Hey...this might be random, but can you tell me all the things you know about me?" I asked. Kanin blinked at me.

"Let's go back up first," he said.

"R-right. Of course," I said.

We headed up the stairs and back into the house, where I felt a lot safer.

"So, you going to answer my question?" I asked.

"What I know about you," Kanin rephrased. I nodded. "Well, some very simple facts: you're a vampire. You have pink hair. You're a girl, I think."

"Of course I am!"

"You used to be a human. You were attacked by Rabids on the night you Turned. You have human friends. There are other facts, but they aren't as important."

"I see," I said.

"What about you? What do you know about me?" Kanin asked.

"Hm...well, obviously, you're a vampire, you have dark hair, you're a boy, I think,"

"Of course I am."

"You had something to do with those...failed experiments. You have already Turned one other human before me, Hisao. You're on bad terms with him, and also Akira, the psycho vamp."

I saw Kanin tense up at the name.

"There might be other things I can't remember, but that's pretty much it for now," I finished off.

Kanin nodded, taking in what I had said.

"I know more about you," he pointed out.

"Oh stop rubbing it in my face," I said. Kanin raised an eyebrow at my sentence.

'Crap! I can't let him know how I feel about how little I know about him...' I thought. I had a reputation to uphold.

"Well, if that's the end of that topic, let's get on to training," Kanin said. I tilted my head in question. Kanin slightly smirked. "First, let's see your skills as a swordsman."

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Yes," Kanin replied. I hesitated, them unsheathed Yorukozu. Kanin just stood there, hands held behind his back. I breathed in and out and willed my inner demon to come out. I didn't enjoy forcing the demon out, or even giving her control of my body. But...

I could tell that I needed her. Kanin was strong...and I couldn't beat him myself.

'You telling me you want me to go out and fight him?' she asked.

'Yes,' I replied. She laughed and smirked.

'Been a while since that's happened,' she noted.

"So..." my inner demon said to Kanin.

'Good. She's taken control,' I thought. 'Don't kill him,' I warned.

'I won't,' she said.

"You're **Kanin...**am I right?" she asked. Kanin raised an eyebrow, obviously interested in this...'split personality'.

"Yes. And who might you be?" Kanin asked. She laughed.

"Been a while since someone's asked me that!" she exclaimed, her smirk getting wider.

'This vampire is interesting...' she said.

"Does it really matter what my name is? I'm here to fight, not have a nice little chit-chat with a cup o' tea and biskies!" she said, imitating an old British lady.

"Interesting. How about we take this to another room? I think we might destroy this place if we fight here," Kanin said.

"I don't mind where we fight, as long as I get to fight someone as strong as you..." she said, licking her lips.

"I do have a place where we can fight properly," Kanin said, observing my-her-every move. He turned around, her following behind him. I was surprised she didn't jump on him right then and there. Maybe she wanted to savour the feeling of the fight...

Yeah, that was the only explanation.

While Kanin was leading us...somewhere, she spoke up.

"Do you really want to know my name?" she asked. Kanin didn't stop to face her.

"Yes," he said. "I want to know the names of all the people I kill."

"Oh, being cocky now, are you?" she smirked. "My name's Death."

"I'm not sure if you are being serious," Kanin said, pushing open another door I HAD NEVER NOTICED BEFORE.

"What if I told you I was being serious?" Death asked. Kanin hesitated a bit before answering.

"What was your name before Death?" he asked.

"Murderer."

"Keep going back, if you will."

"Murderer, Killer, Beast, Reaper, Beast, Murderer-"

"That's enough. What your first name?"

"I don't have one. Demons never do."

"Demons?"

"I've always been like this. Having to live inside another's body, just so I can survive. I've always been relying on Amu. I may be a demon, but I still rely on others, even when I don't want to."

I listened intently to the conversation.

'The only time Death ever said this kind of stuff was when she was with me...and after that, she never spoke of it again. Is Kanin some kind of trigger? Or maybe Death was just feeling weird?' I wondered.

I never liked to think of her as a demon, or a killer. She was just helping me. Before I met her, I used to be weak. Before she became my friend, I used to be afraid.

But even though she seemed like a nice person to me...

I couldn't escape the fact that she was still a demon.

* * *

**Lily: Hi hi! Did you guys like the ending? Finally, Amu is telling us her true feelings about 'Death'!**

**Death: Amu...**

**Amu: Uh...you guys, this is awkward.**

**Lily: He he, sorry! Anyway, I decided that the next chapter will be a filler. It's going to be called, 'A day in the life of Death'.**

**Death: So I get my own chapter? Thanks, Lily. *smirks, kinda looks like a fang is poking out...***

**Lily: No worries!**

**Amu: So what about me? Do I get the day off from acting?**

**Lily: Naw, you'll be there too. Oh btw guys, Utau is seriously OOC in this... But to tell you the truth, I'm not sure what her personality is really like...**

**Death: Yeah...**

**Amu: ...kay? Anyways...**

**Lily: Yeah...well, I'll start doing the next chapter right away, just for you guys!**

**Amu: Review please! See you next time!**

**Death: I get a chapter to myself...**

**Amu & Lily: Bye bye!**


	10. Chapter 9-A Day in The Life of Death

**Lily: Hey guys! It's time for...**

**Amu: A day in the life of Death!**

**Death: *looks embarrassed***

**Lily & Amu: AAW! KAWAI! Death, who knew you could be so cute!**

**Death: I look exactly like you, Amu...**

**Amu: Why don't you show your real appearance?**

**Lily & Death: AMU! SHUT UP! *they whisper***

**Amu: What? *pouts***

**Lily: Death's appearance is going to be revealed later. She's actually a really beautiful girl! She's cool, too!**

**Death: Mou...**

**Lily: He he...stop being so embarrassed! You're being so OOC!**

**Death: Whatevs.**

**Amu: Ah, she's back.**

**Death: What?**

**Amu: Nothing~!**

**Lily: Well, let's get on with the story! This chapter is about how Amu and Death met!**

**Amu & Death: HUH?!**

**Lily: *looks evil, but is smiling***

**Amu: Lily-chan...**

**Death: Ugh...**

**Lily: Enjoy! :)**

**Amu & Death: Enjoy...**

* * *

**Death POV (you know, the demon inside Amu? Or the 'psycho side'? Yeah. That's Death.) **

"Ne!" Someone called out to me. At least, I think they called out to me.

I turned my head to where the shout came from.

"1290!" They shouted again, waving and running towards me.

1290. My 'name'. All demons in Hell were given a name, or number, depending on how strong they were. We were given 'number tags' that we don't actually pin on our clothes, but they are actually printed in black on some part of our body. My number was printed on my hand.

"Hey, 1291," I said, standing up with my hands in my pockets. 1291 was my best friend. Her number was printed on her shoulder. Actually, it's kind of funny. We had become friends only because our numbers were right next to each other.

"How's it going?" she asked, stopping in front of me.

"Boring. What about you?" I asked.

"EXCITING!" 1291 screamed. Other demons stared at us, while I clamped my hand over her mouth.

"What the hell?! Be quiet! You're embarrassing me!" I whispered loudly. She laughed when I took my hand away from her mouth (she bit me!).

"So? What happened?" I asked.

"I found her!" she exclaimed.

"Her? What do you mean?"

"My other self!"

"Seriously?!"

"Yes! And she's a little cutie, too! She has this beautiful sleek blond hair tied into 2 ponytails, and these mesmerizing violet eyes."

"What's her name?"

"Um... I think it was Utau Hoshina or something..."

"Utau? That's an interesting name..."

"Right?"

"When will you get to meet her?"

"Tomorrow!"

I was slightly taken aback by this answer.

"T-tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yep!" 1291 exclaimed excitedly. I furrowed my brows, but it went unnoticed by 1291.

'Tomorrow...that means...I'll only get to stay with you for less than a day,' I thought sadly.

"Don't worry, 1290-chan," 1291 said, smiling. I looked up at her. "I'm sure you'll find your other self soon enough. You won't be alone forever!"

I blinked at her, then sighed though I was smiling.

"1291... Thanks," I said.

"So..." she said, smirking. "Let's make the most of today!"

1291 grabbed my hand and we started running off towards...somewhere.

"1291!" I exclaimed. She laughed, gripping my hand.

'I guess it wouldn't hurt to have fun for the one day that I still have left with 1291,' I thought.

Believe it or not, us demons don't actually look like our other selves. 1291's 'partner' has blond hair and violet eyes, while 1291 has short, curly brown hair that rests on her shoulders. Her eyes were the same chocolate-y brown colour, complementing her hair.

Oh, you want to know what I look like? Well no. I ain't telling you that yet.

Anyways, Hell isn't actually the horrific, full-of-fire, torture underground place that everybody thinks it is. But even if it irritates me that non-demons think it is like that, I can't do anything about it. I can't tell them about life in Hell, or it would ruin the relationship between non-demons and demons.

Ugh...it would be easier to say humans and demons, but there are vampires as well, so it's not like I can say that since it would be unfair to vampires.

'I wonder if my partner is going to be a human or vampire... How old will she be? What will she look like? What kind of a life will she have had? Will she be a nice or a mean person?' I wondered. 'Well, not like that matters right now. I should stop worrying about something like that and have fun with 1291!'

**Time Leap **

I sighed tiredly as I opened my house door. And yes, I live in a house.

We didn't really need to lock our doors and windows or anything like that, since really, if you killed or hurt anyone in Hell, the one and only Akuma-sama, or Devil-sama, as some people say, would personally come to you.

If you only injured someone, Akuma-sama would just take away most of your privileges. If you killed someone, Akuma-sama would just straight out kill you.

So nobody really dared to hurt one another.

I closed the door behind me and flicked on the lights, going straight to one specific room I always checked. Up the stairs at the end of the hall, turn to my left, the room at the end of the hall.

I opened the door, not even wincing when it made that horrible creaking sound. How scary. Inside, I saw that everything was still the same. Once again, I flicked on the light switch and watched the room get illuminated in light.

After a moment of hesitation, I flicked the lights off. I just liked this room better in the darkness. And plus, it would soon be illuminated in a...different kind of light.

I closed the door behind me and walked over to the desk in the middle of the room, with a chair tucked in that was facing the opposite wall of the door. I pulled out the chair and sat down, pulling a keyboard and mouse towards me. After clicking the left hand button of the mouse with my index finger twice, the room was illuminated in blue.

And where did that blue come from?

The screens in front of me.

There were 12 screens, 4 columns of 3 and 3 rows of 4. They were mostly blue, except for a black rectangle in the middle which said, 'password'.

I typed in the password, which was DeMoNsArEaWeSoMe1290. The screens turned black, then green. On it said, 'password excepted'. I leaned back into the chair and waited for the screens to load.

'I wonder if I'll find her today?' I thought, keeping my hand on the computer mouse. As the screens slowly lit up with different pictures, I looked around for her. And how would I know if she was the one? Well...I would just know, you know?

It's like we have a connection. If I see her, I'll know she's the one. Personally, I would like to have a strong partner. Someone who was beautiful, but modest, strong, but kind. Ugh, maybe I'm being a bit too picky...after all, if my partner wasn't what I wanted her to be, then I didn't really have any other choice for a partner.

There are an exact same amount of demons as there are humans and vampires. If I put my hopes too high, they would be crushed.

I observed the screens for about half an hour or so, clicking the mouse every once in a while to change Hell Observers(I'll explain later) and typing in the number of the Hell Observer in the keyboard.

'Maybe I should stop for the day,' I thought, about to shut down the screens, when my eyes widened. I bolted out of my seat and rushed out of the room, picking up a phone and quickly typing in 1291's number.

"Come on, hurry up and pick the phone up," I whispered, listening to the beeps of the phone.

"1290?" 1291 asked over the phone.

"Hi! I have something exciting to tell you!" I exclaimed.

"What is it?" 1291 asked.

"I found her! My other self!"

"Seriously?"

"Yes!"

"Ok, wait there, I'm coming over right now!"

Then she hung up the phone. My heart was beating a thousand kilometres per hour, adrenaline rushing through me.

'I've found her. I've really found her!' I thought.

BAM!

"1290!" 1291 exclaimed.

"You're here!" I shouted, running down the stairs and grabbing her hand. Then I proceeded to sprint up the stairs and into the room. The screens were still on, all of them focused on my partner.

"She's so beautiful," 1291 exclaimed. "And that pink hair! You don't see that everyday."

"She certainly is unique..." I said, observing my partner. She didn't look too weak... I furrowed my brows.

'Is that her parents?' I wondered, looking at one of the screens. My partner was in between two adults-one a man and one a woman-and they were all holding hands.

"She seems so naive," I said. "But kinda cute, too."

"I wonder where she's going?" 1291 asked.

Suddenly, a mansion came into view.

"What the hell...?" I whispered. 'Is she rich?' I wondered. 'Naw, she doesn't look rich.'

"It looks like they just entered a vampire's mansion," 1291 noted.

"Yeah, seems like it."

As the screens went on, my brows furrowed.

"Sired? Why are they doing that-" I was cut off when I heard screaming.

"Oh my god!" 1291 exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands. My eyes widened.

"A-are...her parents being...m-murdered?" 1291 asked softly. I could see the anger in her face, the fury at that vampire.

But instead of fighting, she jumped out the window.

"At least she's smart," I said.

"1290! Her parents have just been killed, right before her eyes! Be more considerate!" 1291 exclaimed.

It wasn't like I didn't feel sorry for her, but...I knew she could deal with it.

I turned off the screen, not wanting to see more.

"So when will you meet her?" 1291 asked.

"It...depends. Maybe tomorrow, if she's not too weak," I said.

"Not too weak? Any human would be weak after that," 1291 said.

"Maybe...maybe she'll be different. She doesn't seem like the one to sulk over something like this. No, she's the type who would seek revenge."

1291 stayed silent for a while.

"Well, at least you won't be alone when I'm gone," she said, smiling faintly.

I nodded.

**Time leap **

My phone rang, waking me from my slumber. I brought a tired hand out of the sheets and felt around for the phone. Finally reaching it, I picked it up and brought it to my ear.

"Hello, this is 1290 speaking," I said, yawning.

"Hi 1290! It's 1291," 1291 said.

"Oh hey," I said, sitting up and stretching.

"Did you just wake up? Sorry!"

"No, it's ok. Are you ready for today?"

"I was just about to change, but I decided to call you first."

"I see. This is probably the last day we'll ever see each other."

"1290! Don't say that! Anyway, I'll change and come over, okay?"

"Kay."

I hung up the phone and placed it on my bedside table. Then I proceeded to walk over to my wardrobe. I put on a dark grey long sleeved shirt and track suit pants. Then I put on a dark brown-ish black-ish coat that only buttoned down to my waist, but ended at my ankles.

DING DONG

"Ah, 1291's here," I said to myself, walking over to the door and opening it.

"Hi!" 1291 said.

"Come in," I said, moving out of the way for her to come in. When she took off her shoes and walked in, I closed the door.

1291 was wearing a white singlet with a thin jacket that was a light grey colour. She also wore a white wavy skirt that ended at her knees.

"As usual, I see you have no sense of style," I said.

"Oh shut up!" 1291 shouted.

"Is your partner really gonna believe you're a demon if you wear something like that?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter if she believes me or not, just as long as she accepts me."

"I see. Well, if you don't have anything else you wanna do, let's go."

"Hai!"

I put on my dark brown leather boots and waited for 1291, then headed off towards the one and only, Akuma-sama.

**Time Leap **

"1290, 1291," Akuma-sama said, his hands behind his back. We did the same, raising our chins to face the great 'lord'. Akuma-sama's hair was a fire-y red, the spikes ending at the bottom of his neck. "I see you have found your partners."

"Yes, Akuma-sama," we said in unison.

"Well, I presume you're excited in meeting them, so I'll skip the chit-chat and get straight to the point. Are you ready?" Akuma-sama asked.

"Yes!" We said.

"Good. Now, close your eyes and concentrate solely on your partner. If you think about anything else, you will either end up somewhere else, or possibly malfunction. I highly doubt I need to explain what happens when you malfunction."

'This is the worst part of it all,' I thought, closing my eyes and picturing the small pink haired girl.

**Amu POV **

"Ouch..." I said quietly, inspecting my knee. "Tch, it's bleeding."

It was around afternoon, and I had made myself a little home inside a cave. There was a small fire raging beside me, keeping my small body warm. While running away from KANIN THAT BASTARD, I had found some clothes that fit me and a small blanket that would be plenty for me.

I had decided to go outside for some fresh air, when I spotted something that looked like a Rabid or possibly some vampire. I had rushed inside the cave, but tripped. And now my knee was bleeding.

'Should I go out?' I wondered. 'Meh, what have I got to lose.'

I stood up and was about to walk out, when someone appeared before me.

'It's a girl...' I noted.

She had beautiful, sleek black hair that was tied into a ponytail. Her eyes seemed black, but I couldn't tell with the fire shining in her eyes. She had her hands in the pockets of her coat. Her neck and her mouth were covered by the coat. She had tracksuit pants on and brown boots below that. Her coat opened up right at her waist, but ended at her ankles.

"Who are you?" I asked.

Her skin was pale, just like a vampire's. I backed up a few steps.

"Oh? You're wondering why my skin is so pale? Well, you can't blame me. After all, there's no sun in Hell," the girl said.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

"Doumo. I'm a demon, and your partner," she said.

* * *

**Lily: Hi! Short chapter, and WORST ENDING EVA.**

**Amu: ^_^; Doumo can mean thank you, but in this case it means hello.**

**Death: Tch. You getting lazy, Lily?**

**Lily: Huh?!**

**Death: It's just, the meeting was cut so abruptly.**

**Lily: What, did you want me to say more?**

**Death: Maybe.**

**Lily: Argh, but that wouldn't have been important.**

**Death: And you're saying everything else before the ending WAS important?**

**Lily: I never said that.**

**Amu: Um, that's enough you two...**

**Death & Lily: Stay outta this, Amu! *bicker bicker***

**Amu: *sigh* Well, hope you guys enjoyed, and please review. :)**


	11. Chapter 10-Eden

**Lily: Hi guys! Sorry this took so long. I've been slacking off like the meany I am. Are you guys mad at me?**

**Amu: They can't answer you, Lily.**

**Lily: T-T Anyways, I'm PRETTY SURE Ikuto's gonna get introduced in this chapter. Maybe.**

**Ikuto: Finally!**

**Lily: You better stay away from Amu, Ikuto. After all, you ARE a human.**

**Ikuto: What?!**

**Amu: *eyes turn red-ish and fangs come out of her gums* I thought I heard another heartbeat other than Lily's.**

**Ikuto: How have you not lost control yet?**

**Amu: Lily lets me take her blood from time to time.**

**Lily: *nods***

**Ikuto: Seriously?**

**Lily: Oh yeah, btw, Ikuto is TOTALLY OOC in this. Totally.**

**Amu: If he wasn't, the romance would be blurgh.**

**Lily: *nods again***

**Ikuto: So I'm not a perverted kuro neko that brings misfortune every where I go? (recited from Tadase)**

**Amu: Not at all. You're actually pretty sweet! And you're very determined to keep your group safe.**

**Ikuto: Oh, now I'm in a group?! I hate acting. Wait...who's in the group?**

**Lily: One man, (your adoptive father), three old people (two women and one man. Two of them are a couple. And no, it's not the woman and the woman), two kids (one boy one girl), a girl and 2 boys your age, and...you.**

**Ikuto: NO! **

**Amu: Btw, your adoptive father is the leader of the group, and you're second-in-command.**

**Ikuto: I guess that's okay... **

**Lily: Oh, also, the only girl your age in the group...kinda clings to you. (It's Saaya). By the way, Saaya hates you, Amu. No matter where you go, she glares at you. Even when Ikuto's there.**

**Amu: Oh great. Just...just great.**

**Lily: :D**

**Ikuto: Well, shall we get on with this?**

**Amu: 'Kay! Lily doesn't own Shugo Chara. If she did, there would be a second season of the anime, and Ikuto and I would be a couple. *shivers***

**Lily: Yeah, I'm adding disclaimers now... :D XD Kay, well, hope you guys enjoy! :) Oh wait! I better explain this now. With demons from Hell, only people who have witnessed something very dark, or are evil themselves, meet up with demons. Sometimes demons don't get to have a partner, for example with Ikuto, because their partner is too... How should I explain this... Like, innocent, but not really. Someone who still has hope, and something like that... It's hard to explain. I might tell more about it later. Also, I've been thinking of making omakes (extras). What do you guys think?**

* * *

**Amu POV **

I flipped back a few metres, panting hard.

"How...*pant* long *pant* is this *pant* training gonna go for?!" I shouted at Kanin, who hadn't even broken a sweat.

If you're wondering, in the match against Kanin, Death lost. It seems Kanin had met with his demon already. (Powerful and scary!) His demon decided to call himself Scar. Scar had practically the same personality as Kanin, with just that hint (hint? more like buckets) of craziness. I think it was Death's first love. XD Jokes, jokes. Anyway, we learnt the hard way that Kanin was...very...very, very...(very) strong.

"If you are already tired, then you are weak," Kanin said, his arms behind his back. My eye twitched a bit at this comment. "Come at me."

I narrowed my eyes at him, then charged forward with Yorukozu in my hands. Kanin dodged my straight-forward attack, then grabbed my wrist and pinned it behind my back, pushing me forward, making me fall face first onto the floor. I realised that he was pressing on a very specific place, which made my body feel numb.

'I'll have to ask him about that,' I thought. Kanin let go of my wrist, and that weird numb feeling left my body. I stood up and shook my arm a bit, getting rid of the uncomfortable feeling.

"Kanin-" I started, but was cut off.

"Joints," he said. I tilted my head to the left and furrowed my brows in question. "Give me your wrist."

I held my hand out. Then Kanin gently grabbed it, but I noticed he pushed on the same place as before, making it very hard for me to move.

"Joints," Kanin repeated. "If you know the right places to hit someone, you will have a great advantage on them. Press the right places, and they will fall." Kanin then let go of my wrist. "That's enough for today. I'll be in my office. I advise you do not disturb me." Then he walked off. When he was out of sight, I inspected my wrist.

'Joints?' I thought, pressing down on the same place Kanin had pressed down on. My body instantly faltered, almost bringing me to my knees. 'The only joint I know of now is my wrist... there has to be other joints, right?' I wondered.

I stretched, then picked up Yorukozu and sheathed her.

"This sparring session totally went well," I said sarcastically, walking to my bedroom-which may I remind you, has no windows and is pretty much all metal. I get Kanin was being considerate so I wouldn't turn into a pile of ash in the morning, but still...I just want a...better bedroom.

'Actually, if I remember correctly, if you hit the neck somewhere, can't that cause someone to go into a mild concussion or something?' I asked myself. I smirked evilly. 'Maybe I could try it on Kanin...'

I jumped off my bed and landed swiftly on my feet, tiptoeing over to my door and going outside. I quietly walked over to Kanin's office, concealing my presence. If I remember correctly, his chair faced away from the door, giving me my chance.

I silently opened the door, running in and 'appearing' behind Kanin. I straightened my hand, then raised it and brought it down, aiming for Kanin's neck.

But my plans failed.

Suddenly, Kanin's chair swivelled around. He grabbed my wrist, stood up, and...dropped to the floor? He then twisted his feet around my legs, pushing me up while his hands pulled my arms down.

"Ow ow ow ow!" I shouted, struggling against his grip. "I give! I give! Let go!"

Kanin let go, making me fall against the hard floor. I kissed the ground. Kanin sat up and stifled a laugh by covering his mouth with his hand. I sat up quickly and pointed at him.

"You laughed!" I exclaimed. When Kanin turned to look at me, his face was already back to being emotionless.

"No I didn't," he said.

"You did! You laughed; it was weird!" I shouted at him.

-BANG BANG-

"What the hell was that?!" I asked, standing up. Kanin's eyes narrowed. He then grabbed my wrist, standing up.

"Hurry," he whispered in an almost panic-y voice.

"What-" I started, but Kanin was already out the door, dragging me with him. More crashes and bangs were heard outside. 'It sounds like guns!' I thought.

"We've been found out," Kanin said, leading us back to the metal door that led to the laboratory. He punched in the code, and dragged me inside. He then closed the metal door behind himself, then ran with me down the stairs.

Once we reached the bottom, I ignored the 'failed experiments' and ran down the hall. We reached another metal door. Kanin moved in front of me, punched in the code, and dragged me with him. He closed the door shut.

"Kanin, what the hell is going on?" I asked.

"We've-I've been found out," Kanin said.

"And what the hell does that mean?"

"I don't get along well with the other vampires. The lead vampire has been after me for a long time for betraying my kin. Someone has found out where I live; here, and they have come to capture me. We need to leave. Now." There was a sense of urgency in his voice.

"When the hell were you going to tell me this?!" I suddenly felt the need to whisper.

"I am sorry. But for now, our first priority is getting out of here. Follow me, unless you want to die," Kanin said. I just nodded. 'We'll deal with everything later. For now, we have to escape,' I thought, running after Kanin's fast and long strides. Has he ever ran before? Not that I know of.

Kanin lead us through the lab, weaving around fallen rubble and other things lurking around each corner. We turned left, then ended up at a metal ladder that led up towards an exit. However, the top was covered so only slight amounts of moonlight broke through.

Kanin started climbing up, signalling for me to wait until he told me otherwise. He pushed the slate covering the exit, and peered out. Then he gestured for me to follow him. I put my foot on the bottom rung of the ladder and my hands on the rungs near my head, then climbed out after Kanin.

The ground was illuminated in a small light, the moon shining down on us.

We crouched down behind a brick wall that had been partially destroyed, and peeked out. After Kanin deemed it safe, we ran out, but still slightly crouching to make sure people didn't spot us. I ducked behind a bush, while Kanin camouflaged with a tree. He stood up, peeking out slowly. He then walked out of the safety of the tree-to my surprise-and gestured for me to run.

But before I could even nod in reply, a bullet pierced Kanin's shoulder.

**Utau POV **

I gasped.

"What the hell...?" I whispered.

"Yaya dug up the dirt, and found Tadase-chi here! Yaya doesn't think he's breathing!" Yaya exclaimed worriedly. I crouched next to Tadase's pale figure, brushing my fingers along his arm.

"It's cold," I noted to myself. If he had died, it had happened quite a bit before the present day. I pressed my index finger and middle finger on his neck.

Nothing.

No strong, heartbeat.

Nothing was there to reassure me that Tadase wasn't dead.

Because...

He was dead.

I clicked my tongue. I noticed a wound on his arm, but it wasn't enough to be life endangering. So either Tadase died from something we couldn't see-inside his body-or he died from blood loss. But either way, he was dead.

"Shit," I cursed.

"I-is Tadase-chi..." Yaya said, unable to finish her sentence. I nodded grimly, standing up and backing up a few steps away from the pale, cold, and slowly rotting body.

"Fucking hell!" I yelled, startling Yaya. "We should at least take him back and...examine him."

I hated to do that to a friend, inspecting their dead body, but this could give us a clue as to where Amu went. I have no idea how, but it was worth a shot. I'm sure Tadase would've wanted to help in any way he could. And this way, his death wouldn't be in vain.

'I'll find Amu,' I thought, not really knowing if I was reassuring myself or Tadase.

I would find Amu and drag her back to the house, whether she liked it or not.

But the one thing I hadn't considered, and definitely did not want to consider, was if Amu had become a bloodsucker.

**Amu POV **

My eyes widened as the bullet pierced Kanin's shoulder. His left side, which had been shot, was pushed backward from the force, but didn't seem to have any effect on him.

Fuck that shit.

Vampires may be hard to kill, and a bullet surely wouldn't do that, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

"Kanin!" I exclaimed. I turned him around, and saw the full extent of the wound. "Shit! I would ask if you're okay, but to hell with that stupid question."

We ran back into the trees, avoiding any bullets whizzing our way.

"Hinamori Amu," Kanin said, clutching his left shoulder with his right hand. "Move. Get out of here."

It took me time to process that, but we didn't have time. The guys-well more like the Vampire League-had found us, and were now shooting bullets and bombs and shit like that. They were also running towards us, if that couldn't be any worse.

"What the hell are you talking about? I am NOT leaving you!" I said.

"Leave. That is an order," Kanin said, his voice firm and strong, almost forcing me to walk away. But I stayed put.

"I don't care! You're coming with me!"

"No. The Vampire League are only after me. If you leave, they will not go after you."

"But Kanin-"

I was stopped not by words-but by his stare.

He was pleading with me, something Kanin would never do. His eyes were asking me to do this for him, so he wouldn't hold a burden on his shoulders if I died because of him. He wanted me to do this one act for him, this one 'selfish' wish of his, which I thought was not selfish at all.

It was selfless, if anything. And that's when it hit me-Kanin had always been selfless. Even his long lectures, glares, and painful lessons were all for me. And had he ever asked for anything in return? Nothing that I could think of.

"Don't die, old man," I said, placing one hand on his right shoulder. I gave him a small, sad smile, then turned around and ran into the forest before I could regret anything.

**Utau POV **

"Is there any way to make sure he really is dead?" I asked the best doctor in the house. The doctor shook his head.

"I do not know of any methods, but it is most likely he is...gone. I suppose we should give him a proper burila and funeral," the doctor replied. I nodded my head in understanding.

"Thank you," I said, as the doctor exited the room which held Tadase. He was put on a hospital bed, sheets surrounding him. I had heard that even if the heart wasn't beating, that didn't mean the person was dead. The brain could still be working.

I clung onto that piece of hope like the naive child I was, hoping, hoping that Tadase was still alive. Hoping at least one of them were still alive.

"Utau-chi!" Yaya called out, running into the room.

"Yaya," I acknowledged her presence, turning to face her and gave her a small smile.

"Is Tadase... all right?" she asked.

"I can't lie, Yaya. I honestly have no idea," I replied, looking back at Tadase's pale body. I shivered slightly. The doctor was pretty sure he was dead, so he turned on the airconditioner in case Tadase really was dead, so his body wouldn't rot.

I wanted to give him a proper burial and funeral, but we still had to search him for clues.

**Amu POV **

I ran further into the forest (don't worry, this is a different forest), occasionally tripping on random roots that would pop up everywhere. Branches would slap me everywhere, while the soil made it hard to run. I stumbled, my arms outstretched as if about to hug the ground.

I crashed into the soil, the brown powder jumping up as I made impact with the ground. I groaned, rubbing my head and sitting up.

It was very close to dawn, and I had no idea what I was going to do.

"Argh, Kanin said something about this before," I whispered to myself, feeling tired already. I snapped my fingers. "That's right! He said, 'If you find yourself trapped outside at dawn, burrow through the earth.'"

I furrowed my brows and looked down at the dirt.

"Ugh, I have no choice," I said, kneeling down and burrowing through. Once I made a hole that was big enough, I jumped in, the dirt falling in on top of my head.

**Time Leap **

I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders, pushing at me to wake up. And I did. I tried to move, but my limbs wouldn't listen.

'What?' I wondered. I furrowed my brows. I tried to sniff in...

But something instead of air rushed in. My eyes flashed open in surprise, and I just had to gasp, too.

Dirt filled my mouth and tickled my eyes. I immediately kicked my legs and flailed my arms around, bursting out of the ground. I kneeled on the ground, my hands holding me up. I coughed and hacked up dirt, the rest for it falling to the ground.

"Oh god! Fucking hell!" I exclaimed, wiping my mouth and eyes.

Once I was done, I sighed and sat up.

"I'm never gonna get used to that," I said. I stretched, then stood up.

'May as well keep moving,' I thought, walking forward in the dark.

**Another Time Leap! **

"...Another empty town. How many has that been?" I asked myself, shaking my head. But there was one difference between this town and the others.

There were...strange blood stains everywhere-on the walls, the floor...it looked as if someone-or something-had been dragged across the ground while it was bleeding.

I cautiously walked down the deserted streets, looking left and right every five seconds. There were broken cars around, some broken and some dented into buildings.

Then I heard something strange...it sounded like someone sobbing...?

I furrowed my brows and walked slowly towards the noise. I turned a corner and noticed the sobbing was coming from a car that was still intact. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, and slowly walked towards it. I peered through the window of the car.

It was...

A kid. A boy, at that. I knocked on the window and opened the door slowly, kneeling down so I could be at eye-level with him.

"Hi...is something wrong?" I asked softly. The boy sniffed and looked at me through watery eyes.

"I-I lost my sister and brother," he said, sobbing quietly and hugging his knees to his chest. I think he was about 6 or 7 years old.

"What do you mean? Did you get separated from them?" I asked. The boy nodded. "Well, what's your name? I'm Amu."

"I-I'm...Caleb," he said, giving me the faintest of smiles. I smiled back softly.

"Do you want me to help you find your sister and brother? If you stay out here, you'll get hurt," I said. The boy nodded, hope gleaming in his eyes. "Come on, then." I took his hand in mine as he hopped out of the car, walking with me.

"What did they look like?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"My brother has dark blue hair, and blue eyes. My sister has brown-ish curls and green eyes!" The boy-Caleb, said, with the cutest voice ever. "Thank you, Amu."

"It's no problem. I didn't have anything to do," I said.

"Are you alone? Did you get lost too?" he asked. I hesitated before replying.

"No...I didn't get lost. But I did lose some people along the way, and yes, I am alone," I said.

"Did the people you lose get lost?" Caleb asked, looking up at me with brown honey eyes.

"I guess you could say that..." I said.

"Caleb?!" A girl voice called out. I looked down at the said boy, whose eyes widened in recognition.

"Cal?" A boy voice called out.

"Iku! Saa!" Caleb exclaimed letting go of my hand and running towards the voices. Two bodies emerged from behind a building, and I tensed, then realised I would look suspicious if I unsheathed Yorukozu at them.

The boy with the blue hair burst into a huge smile.

"Cal!" He said, picking up Caleb and swinging him around.

"Caleb!" The girl said, smiling. I stood their, watching their reunion with a faint smile on my face.

'Blood...'

I shook my head slightly, getting the word out of my mind.

'To hell with you, Hunger,' I thought. I noticed three pair of eyes on me, and turned to the humans.

"Hello," I said, standing still. The boy with blue hair raised his crossbow at me. Though I didn't even flinch.

I kept my face emotionless, not hinting at anything.

"Iku!" Caleb exclaimed, grabbing 'Iku''s arm.

"Who are you?" 'Iku' asked.

"Amu," I replied bluntly.

"Iku, this girl helped me find you! She's a good person!" Caleb said, pleading with his brother, although they looked nothing alike. 'Iku' eyed me suspiciously, slightly lowering the gun.

"I don't want any trouble. If you want, I can leave now and never bother you again. Sorry," I said, though I had no idea why I was apologizing. I noticed the girl was still eyeing me, but the blue-haired boy had put the crossbow down to his side.

I turned around to leave, when the blue-haired boy stopped me.

"Wait. Um...thank you, for helping Caleb find us," 'Iku said, smiling. He suddenly looked younger, and far less threatening.

"It's nothing," I said. "I had nothing else to do, and if I left him there, I'd be heartless."

'Although I already am,' I thought. 'But it's not like they need to know that.'

"I'm Ikuto. This is Caleb," he said, pointing at the young boy. "And this is Saaya," he gestured to the girl. "Why don't you come back to our camp?" he asked.

"Ikuto!" Saaya exclaimed. "We have no idea who she is! She could be a pet, or a thief, or a kidnapper, or a vampire, for all we know!" Ignoring her, Ikuto continued.

"I want to thank you for saving Caleb's life. Please, come to our camp. We have food. Jeb, our leader, won't turn away anyone in need," he said, as if that would matter.

'I'm a vampire,' I thought bitterly. 'I don't need your food, and I sure as hell don't need your charity.'

"Yeah!" Caleb exclaimed, smiling at me. "Come on, Amu-chan! It'll be fun!"

I furrowed my brows and sighed. I couldn't travel with a group of humans, in daylight. That would literally kill me.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. We travel at night, and sleep at day," Ikuto said.

"You travel at night?" I asked, just to confirm that I wasn't going crazy. He nodded. "Why?"

"That's...a long story," he said. "Ask me again later." He gave a glance to Caleb, which said, 'ask me when Caleb's not around.'

"Ah, I understand," I said. "So, how many of there are you?" I asked, remembering he had said something about a big group.

"About ten," he deadpanned. I raised an eyebrow.

"I see," I said.

"So," Ikuto said, as Saaya scowled.

"The offer still stands. Are you coming or not, Amu?" he asked. Saaya glared daggers at me.

"I can't. I was just leaving, anyway. I don't want to drag you down," I said, avoiding Ikuto's gaze. Ikuto glared at Saaya, who flushed and looked away.

"But you won't drag us down," Ikuto said. "We welcome anyone in need."

I sighed, because I felt like it and so it seemed as if I still breathed. I looked at the ground and went through everything. I was a vampire, no doubt about that. If I did go with them, how long would it be before the Hunger lost control? I couldn't have that. What if I killed someone? What if I killed Caleb? But maybe if I only took a little blood at a time, the Hunger could be sated. But how long would that last, with Saaya watching me like a hawk?

"Pleeeaaase, Amu?" Caleb asked, looking up at me with big puppy dog eyes. Ikuto laughed.

"You heard the kid. If you don't come with us, you'll make him cry," he said, putting a hand to his hip.

"...fine," I said, and Saaya narrowed her eyes. But she wasn't important anymore. "I'll go with you guys. But only for a bit. I don't really believe in something like a safe haven. In this world..." I said, but didn't finish because Caleb was here.

"Yay!" Caleb squealed, and he suddenly reminded me Yaya. He skipped up to me and took my hand.

"Yaya..." I said, forgetting the people in front of me. I gritted my teeth. How were they doing, I wondered? Were they dead? Were they alive? Were they looking for me? I shook my head.

"I don't deserve something like that," I said.

"Amu...?" the blue-haired boy said. I snapped back to my senses, and blinked at them.

"Ah...sorry. Just...something I remembered," I said, smiling softly.

"Well, let's go back to our camp," he said, gesturing for me to follow them. Saaya glared at me a while longer, then skipped up to Ikuto and smiled. I sighed again, and followed after them.

Ikuto moved slower so he could walk next to me.

"So, where did you come from?" he asked. I hesitated.

"A vampire city," I said. Ikuto's eyes widened.

"What was it like there? I've never been to a vampire city," he said.

"It wasn't...very different. But it wasn't nice, either," I said. Ikuto took this as a sign to stop prying. "So, why are you guys travelling?" I asked.

"We're looking for Eden," he replied.

"Say **what**?" I asked, sputtering. I'm not very religious, and even I knew what Eden was. It was a safe haven for humans, safe from vampires and Rabids. I wondered if delusions could get someone so young and handsome. I never believed in it, because in this hell, something like that couldn't exist. There was just no way.

"I know it seems impossible, but we haven't given up hope. Many people have told us before, so you don't need to rub it in," he said.

"It's none of your business, anyway," Saaya added. "We don't need you to tell us how stupid it sounds."

"I wasn't going to say anything," I said. "But something like that...it's hard to believe. A vampire-free utopia..."

Behind me, Saaya gave a disgusted snort.

"If you don't believe him, you're welcome to leave," she said. "No one is stopping you."

"Saaya!" Ikuto and Caleb exclaimed. They glared at her, while she glared at me. Ignoring her, I looked over at Ikuto.

"A safe haven for humans... It certainly is possible," I said, deciding to give this 'Eden' the benefit of the doubt.

"Jeb says we'll definitely find it!" Caleb chimed in. I didn't want to crush his hopes, so I stopped talking about my uncertainty.

"You keep talking about this Jeb guy. Is he your leader?" I asked.

"My father," he said.

"Oh. Sorry," I didn't know why I apologized, but I did.

"He's actually my adoptive father, but yes, he is the leader of the group," Ikuto said.

Their camp wasn't too far off. When we got there, I saw another human boy, a few years older than me who had black hair and was lean like a wolf. When he acknowledged our presences, he looked up and smiled at Ikuto.

"Ikuto! You found him! But...who's this?" he asked, gesturing politely to me.

"Ah, this is Amu. She helped us find Caleb," Ikuto said. I bowed slightly.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Amu Hinamori," I said, holding my hand out.

"Darren," he smiled, taking my hand.

"Darren's another stray, just like you. I think you guys will have a lot to talk about," Ikuto said.

"Ikuto!" A voice boomed out. Everybody straightened, as a man walked towards us. Everything about him seemed sharp and hard, and his posture had a sense of determination. His long hair probably used to be jet-black, but now it was the colour of steel, tied in a ponytail at his back. His eyes, the same colour as his hair, looked down at Caleb, then at me. He raised an eyebrow, "You found him, then." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Ikuto said, respect in his voice. "Actually-" he nodded to me, "-she found him. She's a stray. I was thinking we could let her come with us."

"Does she know of our situation? What we're looking for?" the man-I think was Jeb-asked Ikuto.

"Yes sir. I have informed her," he replied. I expected Saaya to speak up and rant about her suspicions of me, but she stayed quiet next to Caleb and Darren. I raised an eyebrow at this.

'I should stay near this guy when Saaya is hovering near me,' I thought, a smirk playing on my lips.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Amu. And you must be Jeb," I said, giving him a smirk.

"I am Jebbadiah Crosse," he corrected me. "And Ikuto knows I turn away none in need, so you are welcome here. However," he said, eyeing me. "There are rules you must follow if you wish to travel with us. We travel at night, and we move fast. Those who fall behind will be left."

'Easy enough,' I thought.

"Everyone must contribute-there are no free meals here, so you will be expected to work, like everyone else; hunting, gathering, cooking if there is needed. Thievery of any sort will not be tolerated, and will get you fed to the Rabids," he continued.

'Even if you gave me to the Rabids, I'd be able to hold them off,' I thought cockily.

"If you think you can follow these rules, then you are welcome to stay."

"Can I now?" I said, sarcasm coated over my words. "Thanks so much." I couldn't help it. Throwing rules in my face and expecting I keep them...that never sat well with me. I didn't like to be bossed around. Darren and Saaya looked at me with wide eyes, but Jebbadiah didn't even twitch an eyebrow.

I suddenly had the urge to show my fangs and say, 'if you think you've got more authority than me, you're dead wrong. Literally.' But if I said that, all of them would be out to get me.

"Ikuto is my second. If you have any complaints, you take them to him," Jebbadiah said, then turned to Ikuto. "Good work finding the boy."

"Thank you, sir," Ikuto said. Jebbadiah then turned to Saaya, who flinched under his glare.

"And you," he said. "I expect you to keep a better eye on young Caleb in the future. Such carelessness is unforgivable. If Ikuto didn't find him tonight, he would've been left behind. Do you understand?"

Saaya quickly nodded her head, her bottom lip trembling.

"Good," he said, turning to me. "Welcome to the family, Amu." And with that, he strode off.

"Come on, Amu-san! I'll introduce you to everybody," Ikuto said.

"Ah, thanks," I smiled at him. But before I went after him, Saaya stopped me. She crossed her arms and gave me her 'best' smirk, which looked more like a retarded smile.

"If you think I trust you, you're dead wrong. I know you have a secret, and I'll find out," she hissed at me. I gave a mocking laugh.

"If you think you can, then go ahead. You really think I care about you? I'm not here to go to Eden or to make friends," I said. "Don't expect me to stay for long. I don't need your charity."

Saaya narrowed her eyes at me, then gave a disgusted snort. I shrugged and caught up to Ikuto.

He introduced me to everyone, but I forgot most of their names. The adults-about four of them, who were mostly old, were pretty nice to me, especially since Ikuto seemed to favour me. The kids, Caleb and another girl, called me their second big sister. I didn't want to be related to Saaya, but oh well.

"We're going to rest in that apartment for the morning," Ikuto said, pointing to a run down apartment. I could feel my internal clock screaming at me that dawn was near, but I could already tell by the way my limbs were getting tired that I would have to rest soon. But in that run down apartment, how could I? I might turn around in my sleep and burn to death.

Ikuto smiled at me, and took my hand, dragging me toward the building.

As I smiled back and followed him towards the apartment, I couldn't help thinking that this boy-this helpful, firendly, genuinely nice human being-was probably going to get me killed.

* * *

**Lily: And that's another chapter done!**

**Amu: So, Ikuto...how was it?**

**Ikuto: *fuming* I wanted to be a vampire!**

**Lily: No way in hell. If you were, the romance wouldn't be as good. But I have to warn you, Amu rejects you quite a few times...**

**Amu: WHAT?**

**Ikuto: Amu~!**

**Lily: Heh... Well, hope you guys enjoyed. Please review, and please be patient for the next chapter!**

**Amu: Bye guys...**


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